18 Days To Fall
by whatstheplan
Summary: How fast can someone fall in love? When a Romani elder gives Ville Valo the task of finding his true love, difficulties are heightened when his time is limited. Join HIM and The Arcane Few as they ride out the roads along southern United States with Aftershock being their final destination. 18 days and counting.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Although this is a fictitious story, I still want to be as historically accurate as possible. That being said, here is the following that will be completely inaccurate.

I will not be including a year in this time setting, but ideally it will be in the sweet spot between Ville's post rehab and Bam's pre Missy separation. In theory that would be some time like 2007-2008, but I wanted bands like Nothing More and Starset to make an appearance, and they didn't launch until about 2013 or so. That being said, I haven't posted (Let alone written) A fan fiction since ye olden days of Quizilla. Hang in there and let me know what you think!

* * *

Time was running out, and he knew it.

The television set in the corner of the room was the only thing emitting any light, casting dancing colors across Seppo's face.

Fall was starting to creep it's way across northern Europe, and every falling leaf was another reminder that Seppo was still unsuccessful in finding an opening act for HIM's upcoming tour.

There were groups that were almost always obvious; CKY, The 69 Eyes, many others...

And nothing.

The bottom of the barrel had been scraped. Every phone call, negotiation turned argument, all had been in vain. _Who needs an opener anyway?_ He thought to himself. _Oh almost everyone ever.._ Countered the other half. Opening bands were a crucial element to the music scene. They warmed up the crowd, got them excited for the headliner. Normally a music group would have up to _three_ opening acts. And here Seppo was, groveling in his misfortune, dreading the phone call he would have to make soon to inform the band that he was unable to even find _one._

He grabbed the remote and started mindlessly changing the channels, his mind slowly sinking into it's fate of total annihilation.

Weather, sports, sit-com, rom-com, more sports, more weather...

He raced past a channel that for a brief moment displayed a woman's insanely huge smile. With a blank face Seppo retraced the channels until he was back to the woman's smiling face.

"But, uh, yeah, we're very fortunate." The woman was saying. She was pale, thin, with flowing red hair... and speaking completely in English. An American on Finnish television? Granted this was a public news station that covered stories farther than the reaches of Finland, but it seemed a little odd that they were covering a story off the east coast of the United States.

The camera shifted away from the glowing red-head and onto a petite woman with a bleach blonde pixie haircut. Oddly enough, this woman looked somewhat familiar.

"If you're just now joining us," The reporter started to say, "Were joined here by none other than Janiel Gallen, who was recently discovered to have migrated to the U.S. After her famed disappearance."

That's when it hit Seppo. A few years back, one of the biggest bank owners north of Germany, Leo Gallen, was seen pleading on television for his daughters safe return. She had been unseen for several days before Leo decided to turn to the press. Nobody could take the man seriously considering it was widely known that his daughter Janiel was a not-so-subtle-about-it homosexual, and Leo was a not-so-subtle-about-it bigot. Hell, half the Finnish population speculated that Leo had his daughter shipped away to some pray-the-gay-away type camp. Despite everyone's efforts, Janiel hadn't been seen again. At least not until now, anyway.

 _But what the hell is she doing in the U.S.?_

Seppo had been tuning out the reporters conversation while in his deep state of thought.

"...this Friday. Tickets will be for sale at the door. You better be there!" Janiel had enthusiastically grabbed the mic that was still gripped in the reporters hand and gave the camera a fierce grin, a face that exclaimed _Screw you dad, I'm lezing it up in the U.S.A.!_

"The Arcane Few will be having their next live performance here at The Champ this upcoming Friday,"

Janiel and the reporter were gone and in their place was a previously recorded video. The first member he spotted was Janiel herself, her petite body mostly covered with a giant bass guitar. She handled it well despite her small stature. On the opposite side of the stage was a tall young man, with shaggy brown hair and a baby face that would make all the fan girls moisten their underwear. Looming from the back on drums, was less of a man and more of a wall. It would be more fitting if this native-american-esque giant used baseball bats instead of standard drum sticks.

But what caught Seppo's attention most of all was the phoenix rising at the front of the stage. In performance the fiery haired front-woman was a live flame. Despite her unbelievably long, red mane, the energy she put off through the television screen alone was intoxicating. Here clear green eyes pierced through the television screen and awoke an idea from inside Seppo.

Right at this exact moment, Seppo's phone began to ring. The noise made him jump. It was Ville.

"Hey big man..." Seppo said into the moth piece, his eyes never moving from the screen.

"Hey yourself.. I need some good news man. And soon."

"Well, your good news will probably have to wait until I get back from America."

"What? You're leaving? At a time like this?"

"Ville listen," Seppo turned away from the television; the lead singer's eyes were doing a number on his brain, he had to turn away to think clearly, "I think I might have just found something for us. I need you to hold on another couple of days. I promise if this comes through we'll be set."

Rather than a reply, Seppo received an exasperated sigh, then a flat tone in his ear.

He closed the phone in his hand, and brilliant, hopeful smile crept across his face.

Time to get on the first flight to Pennsylvania.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the middle of September. The air was still warm outside but inklings of fall were beginning to show themselves.

Ruby Noir stood in front of her bedroom window watching the sun set. A pill was sat in the middle of her palm, and she looked at it thoughtfully. "I don't need you." She said to no one in particular. "I take you almost every day but I don't need you..." she set her mouth in a firm line as she looked down at the pill. Her heart began to pick of some speed, her finger tips wiggled ever so slightly of their own free will. "One day I'm not going to need you... you won't have to sit there mocking me, and I-"

"Who the hell are you talking to?"

The sudden voice made Ruby jump, the pill fell to the floor with a little _click!_

"Jas you scared the shit out of me." Ruby bent over to pick up the pill and proceeded to dust it off.

"Isn't it too early to take that?" Jas replied, cocking his head towards her medication.

"I was just letting it know who's the boss..."

Her brother looked at her even more sideways still. Ruby frowned at him and tucked the pill away in her pocket.

"You should probably get dressed for the show," Jas said as he headed back down the hallway of their apartment.

—-

All the members were piled into the band van. Driving was Robert 'bubba' Crow, the bands drummer, body guard, and manager all rolled into one. In the passenger seat next to him was Janiel 'Jan' Gallen, a smug smile still plastered on her face after her public grand unveiling from a few days earlier. In the second row of seats sat Jasper 'Jas' Noir, alongside his sister Ruby Noir. It seemed to Ruby that she was the only member of the band that didn't have a cool nickname, though it wasn't for lack of trying. She'd been called Red, Carrot Top, Big Red, Strawberry ("My hair isn't even strawberry blonde, it's straight copper!" She whined), Scarlet, Cherry... until one day she stated "Can't I have a nick name that isn't based off my hair? Especially considering my name already is..." And the suggestions ceased after that.

Ruby was staring out the window as she absentmindedly pulled the pill from her pocket and used her index finger to push it to the back of her tongue, and then proceeded to dry swallow it in one gulp. Jasper watched her from the side of his eye. It almost pissed him off how she had been taking her medication so long that she didn't even need water to help get it down anymore. He wished that she didn't take it at all in fact.

The van pulled towards the back of the venue they were approaching, and were then ushered into a gated parking lot. Ruby's heart began to flutter as she opened her side of the van. Her and her band mates, her friends, had been traveling and performing together for a little over a year now, and just recently they had a huge break with their first self titled album releasing. With the release came more attention being drawn to them, and ultimately to Janiel. Granted most of the excitement was probably happening back in her homeland of Finland, Ruby secretly hoped the drama would give them a little boost into the spotlight.

What Ruby didn't know is that very late the previous night, Robert had received a phone call from Seppo. Seppo had told Robert that he had just landed in Pennsylvania, that he would be at their show the following day, and that if he was impressed that he had a very opportune proposition for them.

Robert felt it was for the better that he didn't tell any of his friends, specifically Ruby. On their way here, Robert watched in his rear view mirror as Ruby took her medication quietly and discretely, just as she always ceremoniously did so before any of their shows.

Everyone in their group new she had trouble with her anxiety, but not all of them had experienced her riding out the waves of a full on panic attack. Robert had once seen her shortly after an episode had ended. She had been pale, he delicate hands still trembling, the fire in her eyes that was almost always there had all but completely snuffed out.

Robert looked over at her now as they entered the building. Her face was neutral, her eyes almost glazed over as she was clearly chugging along with a deep train of thought. If she had known that a seriously important man was watching her tonight, with her moves and everyone's alike deciding their fate, she would positively melt down. She was always jittery before shows, relying on her anxiety meds to keep her stable, but once she was on that stage she came alive.

Watching ruby perform was something like an opera. Dramatic, loud, beautiful to look at. Emotional, inspiring, sensual. She had been through hell and back, but nobody could stop her spirit from letting loose once she had a hold of that mic. And that's exactly what needed to happen tonight.

"Ruby."

Her thought train completely derailed as she look up at Robert, her eyes spelling curiosity.

"Yeah Bubba?"

"Light a fire under their asses tonight."

Ruby hesitated, and then a giant, blinding smile spread across her face. A dimple adorned each cheek. The corner of Roberts mouth rigged up ever so slightly as she slipped off to the makeup artist.

Out in the crowd, a massively anxious Seppo awaited. He had arrived early so he wouldn't have to muscle his way to the front, only to his dismay he ended up having to do exactly that. It seemed that The Arcane Few were quite the popular group in their home state. A few local bands played short sets before the main attraction was on, and during the pass time Seppo got to hearing some interesting conversations.

 _Did you know that the singer is dating the guitar player?_

 _They're brother and sister you moron._

 _I didn't know that Janiel was from Finland!_

 _Is the drummer Native American or Mexican?_

 _That can't be Ruby's natural hair color._

At this point the last opener had finished and a crew had been setting up for the main attraction for about 15 minutes now. The crowd was getting anxious.

A large black banner unfurled at the bag of the stage, featuring an enormous set of blue-green cat eyes.

Some whoops and hollers escaped the crowd.

The stage went black. The crowd went nuts. Seppo was almost directly at the front and even then it seemed close to pitch black, he couldn't see a foot in front of his face.

He and half the crowd jumped out of their skin when a sultry voice boomed all around them.

" _Hello there my pretties..."_

Women began to scream, the men were hollering deliriously. It was still pitch black.

" _If you type the word 'Arcane' into google, the first definition to come up is, 'Understood by few.'..."_

The shrieks and hollering became louder.

" _And that's what we represent here. Mr. Crow-"_ One single spot light shined from above the stage onto the massive drummer sat at his set, " _Was abandoned by his tribe because of his indirect bloodline."_

The crowd grew angry almost, sharing their outrage.

" _Ms. Jan over here-"_ A second spot light shone down, revealing the petite blonde pixie, her bass guitar hanging heavy from her shoulders, " _Was disowned by her father for loving whoever she wanted."_

There was a mix of angry cries and cheering among the crowd.

" _And of course, Mr. Jas,"_ Respectively a spot light shined upon Jasper, " _And myself,"_

A light slowly faded on, dramatically bathing Ruby herself in light. It took a good 10 seconds before the crowd died down so that Ruby could finish her sentence.

" _Jasper and I... I guess were just old fashioned fucked up."_


	3. Chapter 3

When Seppo has first laid eyes on this group back at home on the television, they seemed so young for this. According to the internet, Ruby was only 27 years old.

Her demeanor demanded that she be taken seriously.

Her physique was already developed into an eyeful of curves.

On one arm she had an entire tattooed sleeve of white Lilies and jasmine flowers.

Pictures on the internet showed she also had an abundance of blue roses, adorned with butterflies and hummingbirds, covering most of one side of her hip and draping down on to her thigh. The other big piece he'd seen was a giant pair of blue green cat eyes at the top of her back, the same set of eyes on their huge stage banner.

It was amazing how much the internet could show you about a person you didn't know.

The set lasted for an hour and a half.

Through that time, Seppo had become absolutely dazzled. Yes, the crew did a great job at directing the lighting and special effects. Yes, the assistants were amazing at coordinating outfits and choosing the makeup.

But the most amazing thing of all had to be the intoxicating energy the group put out.

When scouting for female-lead groups before, it was always that they 'sounded too much like Evanescence', 'sounded too much like Flyleaf', or 'sounded too much like Nightwish.'

The Arcane Few had a unique sound that was original and all their own. They were all three of those bands at once and nothing like any of them all at the same time.

To the untrained eye, one might think they had been working the music scene for at least a few years. It was no wonder they were able to get their first self titled album out so soon.

They weren't just like any normal metal band; the lyrics that flowed from Ruby's mouth spoke volumes about the old soul that was trapped in this young woman's body.

Love, heartache, hope.

At one point in the set, a chair was brought out for Ruby to sit on. The crowd screamed for her as she sat down at the front of the stage.

"So my friends, I know this song has become a tradition among us."

Cheers.

"But I have some bad news."

The cheering subsided.

"Unfortunately after our last set, Mr. Crow back there accidentally sat on my special guitar when he had a little too much to drink."

Half the crowd was sympathetic, the other half whooped and hollered.

"But I was wondering if you guys wanted me to sing this song anyway."

The cheering wound back up.

"Will you guys sing it with me?"

 _Tangerine skies, follow me home again_

 _The color in your eyes, fades to black_

 _These believable lies, open old scars still red_

 _And the passion once roaring, has gone slack_

 _Push me again, and we'll see what happens_

 _Push again, and I'll come swinging back_

 _Upon the hill of weeping shadows,_

 _Past the rose thorns giving way,_

 _A new protector waits there for me,_

 _To share the new sunrise for that day_

 _Tangerine skies, follow me home again_

 _The color in your eyes, fades to black_

 _These believable lies, open old scars still red_

 _And the passion once roaring, has gone slack_

 _Push me again, and we'll see what happens_

 _Push again, and I'll come swinging back_

 _A new dawn rises up to meet me_

 _A Phoenix rises from my veins_

 _I posses this heart, refusing to ﬂee_

 _You no longer bind me with these chains_

 _Push me again, and we'll see what happens_

 _Push again, and I'll come swinging back_

 _Push me again, and we'll see what happens_

 _Push again, and I'll come swinging back_

By the end of Ruby's song, which was normally paired with an acoustic guitar, the audience had somber, heartbroken eyes, some of them even crying. Nothing spoke better to a crowd than music and lyrics that described something they've felt and experienced before.

—-

Back stage when the show was over, Ruby was still coming down from a natural high. Robert watched her as she shook her hips, doing little weird improv jigs around the green room.

He knew that they had done excellent.

There was a knock at the door, and Seppo was escorted in by a guard. Robert waved the guard off and the door was shut.

"I hope you were satisfied with what you saw tonight." Robert said, the other members waiting in curious silence.

"I haven't told them."

"Uh, hey," Jasper said from one corner of the room, "who might this gentleman be?"

"Amazing on stage, AND impeccable manners." Seppo smiled to himself.

"Hello members of The Arcane Few. My name is Seppo, and as of right now I am your best friend. You see, me and the boys of HIM are looking for something fresh to spice up our upcoming tour. It will begin on September 26th in New York, travel down the east coast and southern united states, and end on October 13th at the Aftershock festival in California."

Nobody really moved or made a sound.

"I have one question."

All eyes were on Ruby.

"Do we get to stop at Disney Land?"


	4. Chapter 4

It was the first day of fall.

A few days before, Seppo had presented his offer to The Arcane Few. In just a few MORE days, the two bands would be setting off on their tour. Tonight however, The members of HIM were flying out to Pennsylvania to meet Ruby and her friends.

"Ruby, the meeting is tonight in this lounge, it's like on the top floor or something. I have to run some errands so PLEASE try and be on time. I'll met you there okay?"  
Jasper handed ruby a slip of paper with the lounge address on it.

Ruby had been alone in the apartment all day. It was overcast outside, though the forecast had previously called for full sun all day.

Around 4pm the rain had started, and Ruby was trudging her way down the soggy streets towards the meeting spot.  
She made sure to give each puddle on the sidewalk special attention, gently placing her black boot in the center, then moving on to the next.

About 50 feet behind Ruby, a tall, dark haired man was watching her with curiosity.  
Ville Valo had been making his way down the city streets as well when something had caught his eye. Among the darkened gray streets and tall metal buildings, was a flash of bright fire.  
But this wasn't an ordinary fire, this fire was atop a woman's head, long, braided, and dangling over the front of one shoulder. She wore a black petticoat, and underneath was an eye catching emerald green skater dress. A ridiculously large black scarf was wrapped around her neck and half of her face, protecting her mouth and nose from the cold. Her long, thin legs were covered with sheer black tights, and each foot was fitted with a black boot up to the calf, and each boot, in turn, placed in a puddle.

Ruby jumped a little when her cellphone started to ring. The number wasn't one she recognized, and although she normally didn't pick up to unknown numbers, she decided to anyway.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this ?"

"Speaking."

"Hiya this is Bill from the post office on John F Kennedy boulevard, we got a package here that's been waitin for ya, did you want us to send it off to your place or-"

"I'll be right there!"

Half way down the street, Ville watched as the woman suddenly took off running, leaving many lonely puddles behind. Where she was off to, he had no idea. He was a little disappointed, but he had somewhere he needed to be.

-

Ruby only had to go out of her way a couple of blocks, and she was fairly certain that she would still make it to the meeting on time. She hurried up the steps to the post office and flew in through the door.  
A funny little man was positioned behind the counter, grinning as if he had been expecting her.  
"Ruby Noir, we were just on the phone, Bill."

"You said you'd be right here but I didn't expect ya to get here so fast!"

" Well, I happened to be in the area."

"Okay miss, just sign here and I'll bring it right out for ya."

\- 

Back outside, Ville continued his journey down the streets of Philadelphia.  
He still couldn't believe the conversations he'd had with Seppo over the last couple of days. First he had failed to round up any of their regular openers. Next he's taking off to the United States, hell bent and furiously sure that he was on to something good.  
When he had come back to Finland, it seemed like all of Seppo's worries had suddenly disappeared.

"I've found the perfect group. They haven't covered a lot of ground yet, but they just released their first album and they're growing in popularity quite quickly. Remember that bankers daughter that went missing? Would you fuckin believe that she's the bass player for these people? And not to mention the singer is just phenomenal. A total knock out."

Ville had been with a few women since his cluster-fuck with Jonna, but it was always the same. Woman luring him in with their bedroom eyes and wicked smiles, only looking for flings and popularity rather than a true relationship.  
He figured Seppo was sick of his whiny, tragic lyrics that continued to produce from his gloomy, heartbroken state of mind. He wanted the romance, the hopelessness of a man's heart forever pleading to another.

Ville was almost at the building, when suddenly the fire was back. Only this time, surprisingly, there was a guitar case bouncing off her back as the woman half jogged down the street.

—-

A few years ago

Ruby was sat on her couch, but it wasn't the one that her and Jasper would come to share. No, this was a little while before that.  
In this moment in Ruby's life, she was sharing an apartment with her fiance, Sam.

On that night, Ruby was to perform in a very important show. She was a cellist, and that night would be her first solo performance.

But she had choked.

Back stage before she was to go on, Ruby had been gripped with terror as Sam squeezed her shoulder with one strong hand, reminding her not to 'fuck this up.'

A bruise formed on her shoulder not long after that.

She had gone out on the stage, and choked.  
A tear rolled down one side of her face, and her bow bobbed violently in her shaking hand. She was experiencing her first ever, full blown panic attack.

You see, back when Ruby had graduated high school (A year early, and with honors) she wanted nothing more than to go to music school. As soon as she had turned 16, she began working anywhere that would hire her. She saved diligently. With her savings, and some help from her mother, Ruby set off to music school.  
She didn't know what drew her to the cello, she just knew that she wanted to play it.

At school is where she met Sam.  
He was a tall, athletic snob that played the clarinet.  
It's true what they say, being an asshole can win over girls.  
For 3 years, Ruby and Sam were together. In the beginning, the two of them were great at encouraging each other to go beyond the best of their musical abilities. Jasper, being a few years older than Ruby, had already moved out of their parents house and had a place of his own.  
When their mother passed from cancer, Ruby moved in with Sam. Jasper and Ruby's father had never really been a part of their life. An unreliable scumbag that left their mother to raise them both. Jasper still remembers the days when their dad promised to come by and take them for the weekend, and he never did.  
Ruby was too young to remember.  
After ruby moved in with Sam is when things started to change. 

He became abusive, but only verbally at first. 

Sam would play with Ruby's mind, having her convinced that he was all she had. She could only work towards improving her skills with the cello so she could become a successful musician.  
Sam had been quite angry when Jasper had gifted his sister a guitar for her birthday one year.  
It wasn't long after that, that he became physically abusive as well.  
But Sam was smart about it. He would mostly hit her upsideupside the head so that her hair would hide any markings.

The night of Ruby's debut performance, which she had screwed up completely,  
Sam had been past the point of livid.  
Ruby sat on their couch while Sam stood at the opposite side of the room, looking out a window. Her hands were still shaking in her lap, and if it had not been for the fact that she hadn't really eaten that day, she probably would have been sick on the floor by now. 

She remembers that moment so clearly in her mind, and how it had scared her so much that she had never seen Sam so angry that he had no words to speak.  
He was still in his leather jacket, and a lime green scarf that he wore all the time, and Ruby thought it was absolutely atrocious, but she would never tell him that.  
He was the classic kind of handsome. Short, neatly styled brown hair, piercing blue eyes, sharp jawline.  
He looked like a statue in that moment, staring out the window.

-

Ruby had stopped in her tracks. She was maybe a few yards from the entrance of the building she was supposed to enter, but right out side of the door was a man with a lime green scarf wrapped around his neck.  
From this distance Ruby couldn't tell if it was Sam or not. It had been two years at least since she had seen him last.  
Either way, she didn't want to take a chance. Her heart was already racing in her chest.  
She didn't want anything to stop her from getting into that building.

Ville watched as ruby suddenly turned into an alley between the meeting building and another.

Ruby was so suddenly filled with terror that she didn't even think as to where she was going, and she smacked right into a body.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to just plow into you like that!" Ruby looked at the woman she had run into.  
It was an elderly woman. Her graying hair was greasy and needed a good brushing. She wore purple and blue garments that draped along her body but they didn't seem fit for keeping her warm.

Ruby waited for the woman to say anything, scold her even, but she only stared deep into Ruby's eyes. That's when Ruby noticed that the old woman was blind. Her iris' had completely gone white.

"Are you lost? Do you need help?"  
Ruby held the woman's hand, unsure of what to do for her. Was she homeless?

"You."

The woman's voice was raspy, with some kind of strange accent.

"Yes hon? My name is Ruby. I can get you a police officer or something if you need me to."

"You are the one that is lost Ruby, not I."

A chill ran down Ruby's spine, the woman gripped tighter on to her hand. Ruby didn't try to pull away.

"Ruby, I know what it is that you are seeking."

The woman leaned to one side, as if looking behind Ruby.

"That instrument you have. I know it is special to you. And here's what I want you to do. Every night when the sun sets, I want you to play your favorite love song on it."

Ruby had no words. How did she know she had her guitar on her? And how did she know it was special to her?

"Play the song every night, and when the time comes that you can no longer play it, is when you will know you have found it."

Ruby had a strong suspicion as to what the woman was saying. But she had to be sure.

" ...found what?"

"Love."

Lightning cracked so loudly above them it made Ruby jump, and the old woman's hand fell from her own. For the past 20 minutes or so, there had only been a little drizzle falling down from the sky, but it suddenly started to turn into a torrential downpour. Ruby looked from the sky back to the old woman.  
She removed her giant black scarf from around her neck and placed it on the old woman's shoulders.

"Thank you." Ruby said, and turned to a door she had just noticed beside them. She tried it, and it opened. She glanced back one more time at the woman, and entered the building.

Ville entered the alley then, having seen the exchange but not hearing it. He started to head towards the same door that Ruby just entered, when he felt a tug at his jacket.

He turned to see the old woman.

"And you." She said, adjusting the scarf around her neck.

"When you see the three stars. That is when you will know that love has found you."

Ville stared at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say.  
The woman just gave him a grin and turned to walk away.  
"She smells good..." he heard the woman mutter to herself as he slipped in the door. 


	5. Chapter 5

Once Ruby had entered the building, she had managed to find an elevator rather quickly.  
She was still so flustered from the lime green scarf followed up by an ominous love quest, she barely noticed that a man had waltzed in right behind her.

The doors to the elevator slid shut.

A few seconds passed before the man asked "...are you going to choose a floor?"

Ruby slowly turned.

Ville, who was at first distracted by her hair, and next her guitar case, was now completely immobilized in the gaze of Ruby's soul piercing blue-green eyes.

From Ruby's perspective, she laid her eyes upon a tall and dark handsome figure. His brown wavy hair protruded out from underneath a knitted beanie, and he pretty much had a whole black ensemble going on.

"I've actually forgotten what floor I'm going to. I suppose I'll just rot here instead of reaching my destination."

To Ruby's surprise, the man laughed.

"No need to look so depressed. I'm guessing were actually headed to the same place."

 _What a weird day_ Ruby thought to herself as the man reached past her arm and pressed the 5 button.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to reach the fifth floor, but in those seconds, completely quite, it felt like an eternity to Ruby knowing there was a handsome stranger right at her back.

The elevator doors slid open and Ruby was face to face with Jasper.

"JAS." Ruby plowed straight into him, arms locking into a death grip.

"Where the hell were you, you obnoxious fire fairy? I was about to go and start looking for you..." That's when Jasper noticed the guitar case that had almost knocked him in the face when Ruby leaned into him.

"Oh sweet!"

-

Jasper lead Ruby and Ville to a room where all the other band members and Seppo were waiting. 

It looked like they had already begun to get acquainted; Janiel was having a heated discussion with Mige on bass techniques; Robert and Linde were off in a corner, Robert showing Linde something on his cellphone; Burton and Gas were having their own conversation.  
Ruby assumed that Jasper had been conversing with Seppo before they had come in.

Janiel was the first to perk up at the sight of them.

"Ruby! Oh! You got your guitar back! Hey, want to play us a song?" 

Ruby hated when Janiel put her on the spot like that, but suddenly everyone in the room was staring at her.  
On the stage, she was fearless. In small intimate gatherings, she was a little shy.  
Times like these usually set off her fight or flight response. Be a shy, blushing coward and politely decline, or be a cocky, confident rock goddess.

She chose goddess. It was an interesting day. Why not make it even more interesting?

Ruby carefully placed her guitar case on the ground while Jasper and Ville took a seat.  
She produced a pair of sunglasses from her jacket pocket, flicked them open, and placed them on her face.  
She then popped the case open, revealing her one and only prized possession. 

The body of the acoustic guitar was glossy black.  
There was a bright, pearly blue ring on the rosette. The neck of the guitar was decorated with a beautiful inlay of green vines and blue rose buds.  
Ruby threw the strap over her shoulder and adjusted herself comfortably, then propped one of her boots up on a chair that was nearby.

"Good evening Philadelphia. My what a small audience we have here tonight! I hope you guys get your money's worth. My name is Ruby Noir. I will now serenade you."

She paused, only for a moment. Then her fingers began gracefully flying over the strings, producing a familiar tune.

Ville watched her intently. He could tell she had been playing for a long time, and not just the guitar. The way she held herself, the way her hands moved seemingly without effort, spoke volumes about the talent within her.

" _I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone_ "

Her voice.

" _All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity_ _  
_ _Dust in the wind_ _  
_ _All they are is dust in the wind_ "

She was an angel. An angel with hair on fire, still in her long coat, sunglasses covering her soul wrenching eyes. An angel with a guitar in her hands and she knew how to use it.

" _Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea_ _  
_ _All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see_ "

Ville tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about how Ruby's voice sounded like the first sip of a cold drink on a hot summer's day. Sounded like when you finally lay down on your bed after working for hours. Sounded like the first bite of your favorite food that you've been so looking forward to. 

And most importantly, he tried not to think about how in the mere minutes that he had known this woman, he could tell that her passion for music was just as enormously deep as his own.

" _Dust in the wind_ _  
_ _All we are is dust in the wind_ _  
_ _Oh, ho, ho..._ "

Ville was yanked from his intense trance as the music suddenly stopped.

"The next part has a violin. I cant exactly sing that part."

Someone in the room chuckled, while the others seemed just as transfixed as Ville had been.

"What did I tell you guys, nothing to worry about." Seppo clapped his hands together and smiled.

\- 

Mostly everyone agreed that the meeting room was more or less stuffy and boring.

As cliche as it sounded, it was agreed that they would migrate to the nearest bar to loosen up.

Janiel was still in a heated, but playful, argument with Mige about bass. Seppo and Robert were discussing technicalities of the upcoming trip, and Jasper, Linde, and Gas were having their own intricate discussion.

Ville and Ruby sat at their own table not that far away. Considering Ville was still going strong with his sobriety, and Ruby just didn't drink, they didn't want to be up close and personal with any drunken escapades that were bound to happen this night.

"So," Ville started, " Are you excited about your first tour?"

Ruby was looking out a window; the sun had already set, and the rain didn't seem to be letting up.

" Well, you know," Ruby dragged her eyes away from the window to meet Ville's. "I know we weren't your first choice... but I'm really happy were getting to do this. We're all we have... and I cant think of a better way to bond with my friends."

" All that you have?" Ville asked quizzically. "You say that like you're a band of orphans."

Ruby looked thoughtfully out the window again for a moment, before turning back to Ville and saying,"I think technically we are, actually. I guess we should have been called The Arcane Orphans instead of The Arcane Few." Ruby chuckled and sipped on her hot chocolate. She knew that Ville probably secretly wanted to know more, so she carried on,  
"I'm sure you've already heard about Janiel. She had already been living in the United States for a while before we met. Actually, Jas got to meet her first. They met in this exact bar actually. Jas was drunk off his ass, trying to hit on her, totally oblivious that he was barking up the wrong tree. He begged her to come back to his apartment so he could teach her how to play the guitar. Quite the unique flirting technique. Surprisingly she accepted, even assuming that he had other intentions. But he was genuine. I cant imagine she learned much from a drunk asshole. But she later discovered that she preferred the bass. She would visit Jas regularly and they would jam together. Now Bubba- er, I mean Robert, as you know him..."

Ruby looked over at Robert, who happened to look over at her at the same time. She flashed him a little smile, then Robert turned and continued his conversation with Seppo.

"So no, Robert isn't Mexican or Puerto Rican or whatever else everyone assumes he is. He's Native American. There was some huge clear out at his tribe when there was some hullabaloo about blood lines... he basically got disowned. I used to go see local bands a lot around the state, and I'd see him a lot. I'd have to guess he's been in about three other groups before meeting us. I would talk to him sometimes after his shows, and he contacted me the day it stopped working out with him and that last band."

She looked at Ville. He sat with his fingers laced underneath his chin. He still had his beanie on but his jacket was hung off the back of his chair. A well worn Black Sabbath shirt hung from his slender frame.

"And me and Jas... well I guess we've got it easy compared to Bubba and Jan."

"Have you guys been together long?"

"Well I mean you've probably heard from Seppo. I think if I had to take a guess, the band has been formed for.. like two years now? Maybe a little more?"

Ville looked at her intensely.  
"I meant you and Japser. Have you two been together long?"

Ruby blinked. Her brain processed. 

A roar of laughter erupted from her mouth. Almost half the band mates stopped what they were doing completely to look over at the two.  
Ruby waved a dismissing hand at them, and wiped away a tear from her eye with the other.

"Ville..." a few giggles escaped, "Jasper is my brother."

Ville's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks going pink.

"Lord have mercy." Ruby took another sip of her drink before carrying on.

" So basically my father has never been a part of my life. I honestly could give less of a fuck though. Jasper remembers parts of it but I don't. Our mother raised us just fine on her own. Better even. I bet between the two of us, Jasper and I could build our own house. Our mother taught us anything and everything she could. I know everyone wants the best for their kids but honestly people need to be realistic. You won't always be able to afford to pay someone to fix your roof or your car..."

Ruby was staring out the window again. She watched the rain drops race down the glass.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Ville let the sentence trial off.

"Cancer."

"Ah."

"But you know," Ruby continued, turning back to meet Ville's eyes again, "It's not like we didn't see it coming. It was sad, and we miss her, but it wasn't some dramatic, sudden think like you see on TV. She suffered for a long time. We would try and help her but she always put on such a convincing show that it was hard to tell how much pain she was in. But she had other problems. She had terrible arthritis for one." Ruby's eyes dropped to her hands wrapped around her mug. "It can be hereditary, you know. I don't smoke, I try to stay healthy."

Ruby looked back up at Ville with a look so intense it could have rocked him back in his chair.

"I think I might just kill myself when the day comes that I won't be able to hold my guitar."

 _I could love this woman_ , Ville thought to himself. 


	6. Chapter 6

[18 days until Aftershock]

The first show of the tour would take place in New York.

The tour buses were to be picked up in New York on the day if their first show, so the bands were taking a couple of vans over.

Everyone was getting geared up for the tour. It was agreed that they should leave early in the morning so that they would had time to practice or explore the city of they wanted to.

Ville hadn't been able to sleep for the last few days between the first meeting and the day that they would be leaving.

He couldn't stop thinking about her.

The evening that they had sat together, Ruby and himself, she had started out their conversation talking about how the members of the band were basically all screwed up orphans.  
She had apologized after, assuring him that she wasn't always such a downer.  
They had talked about everything. Food, music, family, traveling. A few hours had flown by and neither of them had noticed until Jasper was sick in a corner and they were promptly asked to leave.  
He still remembers her face exactly how it was the last moment he saw her.  
"I'll see you soon, okay?" She had given him a fierce grin, dimples forming in her cheeks. Her hair rippled in the rain and wind like dancing flames as she turned to jog off.  
Her long legs carried her through the storm, her boots disrupting every puddle along the way.

Every night since then he had dreamed about her. And he was scared. She seemed perfect. Beautiful, talented, wickedly smart. And most importantly, she was down to earth, real. She didn't seem to care about material possessions, money.  
She sends a message through her music, and her only goal is to spread her message, for her beacon of hope to reach as many people as possible.  
Ruby had told all of this to Ville, and her eyes were so alight with passion and emotion that maybe she could have cried.

But he was waiting for the catch.

Maybe she was secretly a mass murderer? A cultist? Maybe she was actually a sociopath with such a convincing and charming fabricated personality that he wouldn't know it before she was holding his guts in her hands?

Maybe he was overthinking it just a tad.

It's just easier to trust someone when you know a little bit of their bad sad, their weak side.

It was finally the morning of the beginning.

The members of HIM arrived at the van rental establishment, where the members of The Arcane Few were already waiting.  
Ville tried to slow himself down as he found he was almost running up to them.  
He didn't want to seem too eager.  
There was music playing, from inside of their van's radio he guessed.

"Hows everyone feeling?" Ville asked.  
Robert grunted. Jan was absorbed in her phone.  
"Tired." Jasper replied. 

" _Today is gonna be the day_ _  
_ _That they're gonna throw it back to you_ " 

It was Ruby. 

" _By now you should've somehow_ _  
_ _Realized what you gotta do_ "

He could hear her but he couldn't see her.  
Ville's heart fluttered in his chest.  
The first thing he noticed when they had pulled up was that he didn't see Ruby. But the band didn't seem concerned, so he wasn't going to ask. Again, trying not to seem desperate.  
Jasper sighed. He turned away from Ville and slammed a fist against the van.  
"Ruby can you honestly go about 5 minutes without making some noise?" 

That's when Ville noticed a pair of long legs, clad in black Jean's and a pair of worn out Chuck Taylor's, swinging freely off the side of the roof of the van. 

" _I don't believe that anybody_ _  
_ _Feels the way I do, about you now"_

"Shes ignoring you." Jan said as she started typing rapidly on her phones screen.  
Jasper dragged his hand over his face and sighed. "That stupid woman is so excited for this whole thing that she couldn't sleep. So she was playing the damned guitar all night and in turn I didn't get any sleep." 

" _Backbeat, the word was on the street_ _  
_ _That the fire in your heart is out_ "

"But why is she up there?" Ville pointed at her legs, one shoe swinging to and fro with the song she was playing.  
"I don't know man." Jasper closed his eyes and leaned against the van along with the others. "You can go ask her. All I know is if you cant find Ruby your best bet is to look up."

 _"_ _I'm sure you've heard it all before_ _  
_ _But you never really had a doubt"_ _  
_  
Ville left his band mates to shake off the sleep with everyone else as he circled around to the other side of the van.  
There was a thin metal ladder leading up to the top.  
He slowly climbed up and took a peek over the edge.

 _"_ _I don't believe that anybody_ _  
_ _Feels the way I do about you now"_

Her upper half was dressed in a plum purple long sleeved sweater. Her hair was down and free, not constricted by braids or hair bands, and it was fanned out onto the van like a bright ring of sunshine. She was laying on her back, the guitar resting on her stomach, and her arms, hands and fingers worked away as she continued the song.

 _"_ _And all the roads we have to walk are winding_ _  
_ _And all the lights that lead us there are blinding_ _  
_ _There are many things that I_ _  
_ _Would like to say to you but I don't know how_ __

 _Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me_ _  
_ _And after all, you're my wonderwall"_

The guitar gave an ugly twang and stopped. She was suddenly looking him dead in the face with those piercing eyes. For a split second her expression was blank, but then exploded into a pearly white smile decorated with dimples.

Ville smiled back at her without even realizing it. Her smiles were contagious.

"Are you coming up?" She asked, swinging her legs back onto the van and sitting up.  
It was still early in the morning; the sun was just beginning to peek out through the buildings towering overhead. A ray of sunshine broke free nearby, bathing Ruby in a blinding stream of sunrise.

Ville was awe struck.

Her red-orange hair lit up like a beacon, its glossy tendrils shining brightly.  
He could really see her face now. Not a mole or freckle in sight, her alabaster skin was like an unmarred vein of marble.

A gust of wind rushed at Ruby's back while she was still looking at him, waiting for a response, and her eyes shot open at the sudden cold.  
" Never mind, I'm coming down!"  
She held the guitar out to Ville, and he gladly took it so she could descend the ladder.

"Okay, everyone is here, good! Let's get the show on the road as they say." Seppo clapped his hands together. Ruby noticed he did that a lot, and she giggled.  
"Something funny ?" He asked as people started climbing into their respective vans.  
"Just excited." She said through a toothy grin. 

Ville panicked on the inside when he saw Ruby start to break away from his side and start to head to the van that her band mates were piling into.  
"Uh, R-ruby, um so you said that you'd never really listened to a lot of European rock bands, I have my ipod with me if um, you maybe wanted to ride with us?"

"Hey that sounds like fun, to switch it up," Mige said as he hopped back out of a van "I never finished my conversation with Janiel."

"How long have you guys been having that argument for? Going on like 6 hours now?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to one side.

"It's not an argument, it's a discussion."

"Mige you know that she swings the other way right?" Ruby asked, her eyebrows scrunching together.

Mige smiled at her. "We will see about that by the end of this trip." And with that he pulled himself into the other van. Jasper, who had been listening and watching the whole time, half jokingly gave the I'm-watching-you jesture to Ville. Ville didn't know how to respond to that, but Ruby had flipped him off and was skipping over to the other vehicle.  
Seppo was driving. Burton was in the front passenger seat. Linde and Gas were in the middle row, and Ville and Ruby were at the very back.  
The van gave a loud start, then was rolling it's way out of the parking lot. It almost reminded Ruby of field trips she used to take in school.  
Ville held out an earbud to her, and when her soft fingers brushed his hand, they both felt a light tingling. Their eyes met for a second before Ruby flushed slightly; she put the earbud in and looked out the window to her right. Ville sat to her left, his own window to his left.  
The buildings started to roll by as they made their way to New York.

It would seem that Ville has developed a strong crush on Ruby, but it definitely wasn't one sided. Ville took the words from the old Romani woman and tucked them away in the back of his mind, convinced that she may have just been crazy.  
Ruby on the other hand, had really taken their conversation to heart. The things that the old woman had said were left permanently stamped in her memory.  
Every night since then, Ruby had made sure to play her favorite love song on her guitar strictly when the sun was setting. Maybe she was silly or stupid for doing so, but even if it didn't work, it wasn't hurting anyone.  
She admitted to herself that she found Ville very charming, handsome, and kind, but in the off chance that what the old woman had said was true (that she would know love when she could no longer play the song; "are my hands gonna break?") She wouldn't want to be fooling around with him if it wasn't, well, him.

About half an hour into the road trip, Ville felt a light pressure on his arm, and a tingle shot up the side of his neck and was left swirling in his temple. He slowly turned his head from the window to see that Ruby was sound asleep against him, the other earbud still in place.  
This is the closest she had been to him since they had met. He could pick up her scent now. It was some glorious mixture of vanilla, cinnamon-sugar. Like a fresh baked confection.

He looked down at her long eyelashes, and her glistening, pink lips.  
The first night that they had met, he had later pleasured himself in the shower while thinking about her. The memory drifted to the surface suddenly, and he had to look away to make sure his pants didn't continue to shrink.

-

When Ruby woke, the sun was high in the sky. The first thing that she noticed when she opened her eyes was that the van was completely empty. She looked up at Ville with sleep still in her eyes, Ville aimlessly scrolling through his phone before noticing that she had woke.

"Hey sleeping beauty." He said, putting his phone in his pocket. 

"Where is everybody?" 

She sat up fully, looking around to see the van was parked in a more or less empty, fenced off lot.  
"Don't tell me," she said holding up a finger to Ville's face,"I've been asleep for two years. The inevitable zombie apocalypse has finally taken it's way, everyone else had already been killed, and now were the only survivors. You've been good about keeping us alive for this long. But they're closing in. You must choose. Kill me and then yourself, or let the creatures have their way with our flesh and brains." During her dramatic story, Ville had started with a chuckle and was full on laughing by the end.  
"Could you believe that I wanted to be an author when i was little." She smiled at him.

"So, we got here about an hour ago. Basically everyone took off, except for Robert," Ville cocked his head to one side, and Ruby saw in the van parked next to them, Robert sat in the back, listening to his own music, eyes closed. "Jasper thought it would be best if you slept for as long as you could before the show tonight, considering you didn't really sleep last night."

In that moment, they both realized how close they were. Their thighs and arms were touching, Ruby was leaned slightly into him, her breast pressed against his arm.

"Hey Ville?"

"Yes?"  
The tension was high as her doe eyes burrowed into his soul.

"I think there might be a museum near here that I've always wanted to go to, do you want to go with me?" 


	7. Chapter 7

Both Ville and Ruby had decided that it would be in their best interest if Ruby somehow covered up her hair.

It was common for men to have longer, dark hair, but not every woman commonly had bright red hair. If either of them were to be publicly noticed, she would be first.

Ville lent Ruby the hoodie he was wearing. It smelled like his cologne and the scent was intoxicating.

Ruby tucked her hair into the hood and pulled it over her head, then the two of them headed down the street to the museum.

They grabbed some food on the way in; the museum had a little cafe at the entrance. Ville settled for a muffin and a large cup of black coffee. Ruby, on the other hand, tucked into an absurdly huge bowl of fruit and yogurt.

"How do you think I get all this energy?" She had stated between bites.

The two of them silently wandered the halls of the gallery, periodically stopping to ponder at especially interesting pieces.

Ville liked to watch Ruby as her eyes would scan a piece of art, her calculating looks of seriousness made him wonder what went on in that mind of hers.

As Ruby was pondering a still life painting, there seemed to be a couple having a tiff nearby.

From what could be heard, it seemed that the man had done something the previous day that had made the woman upset. He was trying to reconcile.

Ville watched as Ruby peeked at the couple over her shoulder.

The man was offering the woman a bouquet of flowers. The gesture seemed to soften the woman a bit.

"How cliché." Ruby said with a neutral face. Ville looked at her quizzically.

Ruby turned her body towards him fully, he hands stuffed in the front pocket of the hoodie. A red tendril fell over her face.

Ville wanted so badly to push the tendril back in place.

"I mean look at that. I saw that same bouquet in a liquor store on the way here. What ever happened to putting any real thought or emotion into something? What happened to writing sonnets or presenting the head of your sworn enemy."

Ville grinned at her. This woman was getting deeper by the moment. "And who is your sworn enemy?"

"Myself." The word came out so naturally from Ruby's mouth that it made her cringe.

They looked into each other's for a few moments.

"Wow, that got morbid," Ruby chuckled and turned back to the painting, "Please don't decapitate me."

"I don't have a weapon to do it with, regardless." Ville teased.

* * *

Ruby and Ville continued their adventure through the halls of the museum. While Ruby stood, analyzed and comprehended, Ville watched her.

He hadn't been to a museum before with a woman. He had offered, but it seemed that most of the women that he had pursued were only interested in being a socialite.

Ruby was different. And he thought to himself that that was the worst cliché you could label a woman, but it was true.

"Ruby?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you smile so much?"

She tilted her head at him. "Would you rather I don't?"

"No, no of course not. It's just that... sometimes the things you say... sometimes you seem like you suffering underneath it all."

Ruby contemplated his face for a second. She wanted to choose her words carefully.

"...A long time ago someone that was very dear to me hurt me very badly. I don't want to sound like a cry baby, because there are people out there that have it worse than me. But he tried to take something from me that I wouldn't have been able to get back. And that was my wake up call. So I left. And I started doing things for me. I got the tattoos I wanted. I played the instruments I wanted. I dressed and ate and loved how I wanted. It's hard being with someone that won't support your decisions in life. I'm so grateful to not be a part of that situation anymore, and it really showed me not to take things for granted. So I try to smile any chance I get, because I spent a long time not smiling. I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time."

A small, sweet smile lit up her face, and Ville saw a small amount of tears at the corner of her eyes.

Without even thinking, Ville pulled the hood back from her face, placed his hand on the back of her neck, placed his other hand on her waist, and pulled her close.

Tingling sensations exploded on Ruby's skin underneath her clothes where Ville's hands were, and she watched in slow motion as the inches between their faces began to decrease.

She didn't even have time to think, to decide if she wanted this or not. But who was she kidding, because she had wanted to kiss him from the moment she had seen how he had watched her when she played music for him for the first time. True admiration, appreciation, and a longing.

Their lips met, soft and tingling. Ruby felt Ville's fingers working their way into her hair, and he pulled her even farther into him, deepening their kiss. Ruby's eyes fluttered shut, her mind melting into a cosmic state of nothingness. Both her hands were resting on his chest, her fingers curling over the fabric underneath.

Neither of them had experienced a kiss so romantic, so dangerous. Practically strangers, embracing one another while surrounded by marble statues and oil paintings.

Two seconds? Two minutes? Time was a construct when their souls were this close.

Ruby pulled away first, sucking in a breathe as her hands slid away from his chest. It seemed she hadn't been breathing during their embrace.

Her eyes were a moving ocean, and Ville was still completely lost in them.

* * *

The two did not say a word to each other as they walked back to the vans.

Ruby was being deadly quite, and Ville was dying to know what she was thinking.

Did she hate him now? Did he completely fuck up the tour by making it awkward before it even began? Would she tell Jasper? Would Jasper try to kick his ass?

"Hey, Ville?"

Ruby had stopped walking. They were maybe a block away from the private parking lot.

He didn't verbally respond, but instead just looked down straight into her eyes. Like staring out at the ocean.

"I'm not mad. And I don't regret it. Hell, in fact I'd be inclined to do it again,"

Ville's heart fluttered.

"...But there's some stuff in my life that I need to sort out before I think about anything along the lines of that, even it's just a fling type thing, okay? I hope you respect that."

Ville was a little disheartened, but reached out to give her hand a squeeze of affirmation.

She gave him a smile, and they continued on their way.

* * *

It was later now.

The crowd was starting to roll in. The bands were in the green room. Members were strewn across couches and chairs, chatting it up before the first show.

Ville was trying to hold a conversation with Mige while at the same time rapidly snatching glances over at Ruby, who was on the other side of the room. She was sat in a chair, a makeup artist working away at her face and hair. Most of the time the assistant was completely blocking his view.

At one point, Ruby had asked the assistant to hold on for one moment. Ruby reached into her bag, pulled out a small orange medication bottle, swiftly dumped one in her hand, and just as swiftly tossed it in her mouth. Ruby settled back in her chair with a sigh, her eyes staring out into nothing as the assistant continued to work on her.

Eventually she disappeared into a changing room. When she emerged, the members of her own band seemed un-phased, but Ville's body heat started to rise.

She wore a flowing, black dress that draped to the top of her thighs. It was sleeveless, topped with an unbelievably flattering sweetheart neckline. Her legs were wrapped in sheer tights, and she wore towering black boots. Ville hadn't realized until that moment that she had tattoos. She had worn her jacket the first day they met, and she had been wearing a sweater all day this day.

His eyes explored the curling foliage covering the length of her arm, and the vibrant roses peaking out from beneath her tights.

He didn't even know that shoulders and collar bones could look so tantalizing.

Her hair had been styled in a whirlwind of tousled tendrils; she looked like a lion ready to pounce.

Her eyelids were smudged with a deep purple shadow, making her eye color stand out even more.

"I'm ready to fuckin' rock." She stated.

* * *

The show was beginning. Ville was standing on the sidelines.

Nothing could prepare him for this.

A smart, beautiful, talented woman had come in and completely mesmerized him. And now he was watching her on stage; her fiery mane almost flowed as if under water, her body moved with the grace and energy of a lioness, and her voice demanded the attention of everyone in the room.

She was alive.

Ville was captivated by her display.

When their set was over, she turned his way and came skipping towards him, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"What did you think?" She asked, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breathe. A light layer of perspiration made her skin glisten in the stage lights.

"Ruby, I'm actually truly speechless."

Her smile widened, her dimples deepening into her complexion.

"Don't you have your own show to get ready for?" She asked.

"Oh, right.."

She flashed him one last smile before turning to walk away.

As she did so, she ran a hand through her hair. As her palm brushed past her temple, pushing the hair away, Ville spotted three small stars tattooed on her temple. Normally they would remain hidden under her hair.

 _When you see the three stars. That is when you will know that love has found you._

His body went rigid, and he was left frozen where he stood, basking in the afterglow of Ruby's dazzling smile and the intoxicating scent she carried with her.

Authors note: I'm truly trying to turn out these chapters as fast as I can between work and college. There's nothing I hate more than an unfinished fanfiction.

If you'd like to feel like your more in tune with the story, here are some songs you can look up.

The song that Ruby performs for the bands is Dust In The Wind by Kansas.

The song that Ruby is singing on the first day of the tour is Wonderwall by Oasis.

And the song that Ruby normally sings with her guitar on stage "Tangerine Skies", I wrote myself.

I hope you're enjoying the story so far.


	8. Chapter 8

[17 days until aftershock]

Their next stop was New Jersey.

It was a short drive, and they arrived shortly after 1 in the morning.  
Ville couldn't sleep.  
He lay awake in his bunk, staring at the ceiling, visualizing the three stars in his mind.  
She was the one, and she didn't know it yet.

What had that old woman said to _her_?

Surely she would love him in return? Unless the twisted old woman wanted Ruby to pursue someone else while he watched and suffered?  
But how would that work while they were on tour?  
She would be way too busy.

And if it was him, she wasn't ready.  
He would completely respect her.  
Even if it meant waiting until the very end of the tour. But then what would happen?  
I mean it's not like he _wouldn't_ ever see her again. She had a phone. They could talk.

Normally the thought of trying to make a long distance relationship work mad him depressed. But for Ruby... he could wait any amount of time for Ruby.

As Ville lay there, staring at the roof of his bunk, he realized he was falling

Fast, hard, and with no end in sight.

_

At about 6 in the morning, Ville couldn't stand being in his bunk anymore.  
He quietly exited the tour bus. They were parked at the far side of a parking lot of a truck stop.  
Early morning commuters were pulling up to gas up their cars and grab a sub par breakfast, and truckers snoozed in their sleeper cars or were taking a long needed shower inside the building.  
The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. The sky was a mass of swirling orange, pink and blue.  
Ville leaned his body against the bus and closed his eyes, feeling the cool morning breeze rush past his exposed skin.

"Hey."

The voice was soft. He lifted one eyelid, and there she was. Ruby's arm was extended out to him, a large, steaming cup in her hand.  
"You like it black, right? I saw you from inside the store. I couldn't sleep either."

Ville accepted the cup from her without saying anything.  
She was already memorizing his drink order?  
What's next?  
His favorite foods as well?

Ruby put a plastic tube up to her mouth and sucked on the end.  
"What the hell is that?"

Ruby chuckled, the plastic clenched between her teeth.  
"It's called a go-gurt. It's like a yogurt snack for kids. They didn't have anything better."

They watched the sunrise together in silence. Ville liked that they could just enjoy things without having to fill each moment with noise or conversation.

Somewhere from inside the bus, Jasper awoke. He knew that they had parked somewhere that had access to showers, and that was the first thing on his mind.  
He grabbed some supplies from the junk bunk, and quietly exited the bus.

He started to head straight to the building when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Ruby was sat on the ground, back against the bus, asleep.  
And he noticed Ville, on the ground, head in Ruby's lap, also asleep.

-

It was almost time for the second show.  
Everyone was getting ready; tuning guitars, applying makeup, warming up their voices and fingers.  
The sun was setting outside, and Ruby was glued to a nearby window, watching.  
When the sun had almost died down completely, Ruby began to quietly play a song on her guitar. Ville was on the opposite side of the room, but still strained to try and listen to what she was playing.

"Hey." Ville turned to see Jasper. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ville followed Jasper to a different room in the venue. Stage hands and technical managers rushed by to finish their set up, not even noticing the two of them.

"I've been watching you guys."

Ville gave him a blank stare, thinking for a moment before saying, "She told me she's not looking for anything, and I'm trying my best to respect that."  
Jasper let out a bitter chuckle.  
"Listen, Ville, I don't care if she likes you. And when that time comes, and it will, are you going to be man enough for her?"

Ville didn't know what to say. He certainly _hoped_ he would be.  
Jasper was drilling Ville with his eyes. They weren't the same as Ruby's though. Jasper had hazel eyes. Half the ocean and half the land.

"Look, there's something I need to show you." Jasper pulled his cellphone from his pocket. When he found what he was looking for, he held the phone out to Ville.  
Ville took the phone and held the screen up to his face. The image he saw made his blood run cold, and a rock and settled down in the pit of his stomach.

It was Ruby.  
She was in the back of a car. Her head was lolled to one side, her half drooped eyes staring off into nothing. Her skin was almost gray, and her hair was dull, as if the life was almost drained out of her.

But the most disturbing part of the picture was the blood.

Ruby's right arm had a chilling cut, from elbow to wrist on the outside of her forearm. It was gushing blood. Her entire arm was crimson. Her left hand had a grip on her right elbow, and blood was seeping through her fingers. It looked like she had been wearing a rather nice dress, one you would wear to an important event, and blood was on that too. Some droplets were smeared along her face and neck.

"I took that right before I took her to the hospital. Her piece of shit fiance had done that to her. Honestly I think he was aiming for her hand and completely fucked up. I think maybe he was trying to fuck up her hand so she couldn't play an instrument again."  
Ville looked at Jasper with a stone face.

"And I know you've seen her take her medication before the shows. Thanks to that asshole, she started having these terrible panic attacks. Most of the time she's okay, but there's just certain things that will set her off, you know. Unfortunately, performing is one of them. I'm pretty sure he scared her half to death before she was supposed to play for the music school she went to, right before she went on."

Ville was still quiet. He couldn't fathom the thought of someone doing that to her. To his Ruby. The beacon of hope that shone on the faces of her admirers.

"Just keep in mind that she doesn't have a lot of friends. If someone has cancer, or like a severed arm or something, you know people are sympathetic towards them. Because you can _see_ the illness. You can take one look at a person and know what's wrong with them. But those attacks... they happen inside her head, and affect her on the _inside_. People don't like to deal with people with mental disorders, because they cant see it, and they don't understand it. It's like something she feels she has to deal with on her own, because she's the only one that feels it. I know you like her man. And I dont blame you. Just be gentle with her."  
Ville was expecting a threat at the end.  
But there was none. Jasper took his phone back and walked off.

Just as with the first show, Ville was watching from the side of the stage. And just like the first show, he was blown away.  
When the lights were just right, Ville could see it.  
On her right arm, underneath her tattooed sleeve, was a long, angry scar. 


	9. Chapter 9

[16 days until Aftershock]

The next stop on the tour was Westchester Pennsylvania. Ville was excited for obvious reasons.

Again, he was up early in the morning. He called a cab, and made his way to Bam's house. His old friend was already waiting in the driveway for him when the cab pulled up.  
They embraced momentarily before heading inside.

"So where is the Mrs?" Ville asked as they strode through the house.

"She's out having girly time, I guess an old friend of hers is in town for the day."

"Ah."

"... something is different about you, man."

Ville raised an eyebrow and waved a dismissive hand.

"...It's a chick!"

Ville feigned ignorance, "What makes you say that?"

"You're like.. glowing or some shit. That's what Missy would say. That you're glowing. Like a little school boy with a crush on the tea- OW." Ville gave Bam a swift punch to the shoulder.

The two of them settled down on one of Bam's many couches. They reminisced, talked about new things to come, their family, and their lives in general.  
It wasn't long after that that Bam suggested they head into town.  
They visited some different shops before settling in a record store, the two of them in a zone of their own as they flipped through countless vinyls.

A cellphone started to ring loudly, Bam grunted as he yanked it out of his pants pocket, not caring about the glares he was receiving.

"What's up woman?"

A very loud, hysterical tone could be heard on the other end.

"Whoa whoa what happened now?"

Ville audibly heard Missy take a deep breathe, then started her story over as calm as she could.

"Okay, where are you?... I'm actually only a couple blocks over, I'll be right there. Don't let her move."  
Bam put his phone away, and hadn't need to say anything to Ville, who was right on Bam's tail and they exited the store.

-

[Earlier that morning]

Ruby had mixed feelings about being back in her home town. She hadn't really been around since her mom had passed, and she never really thought that she would be back.

She had plans to see her friend Missy today.  
Ruby knew that Ville was friends with Brandon, but she thought it best if she gave Ville some space today. Between shows and traveling, they had been trying to spend the spare moments getting to know each other.  
Ville never brought up what had happened in the museum. It made her wonder if she had put him off, and that maybe he wasn't interested in being the guy waiting in the wings.  
She wanted him. Ruby had already admitted that to herself. He was handsome, thoughtful, and gentle. She always watched his shows from the side of the stage, and when he would move his hips a certain way or sing a note real low, it made her tingle all over.  
She shook these thoughts out of her head on her way into town.

She met Missy outside of a cafe, where they promptly went inside for some food.  
They were seated, and immediately Missy blurted, "You look so healthy!"  
Ruby never took offense to her friends comments.  
"I _feel_ so healthy." Ruby said, grinning.  
"Your skin.. it's so vibrant! Your eyes are sparkling...wait "

Ruby had her drink half raised to her mouth and paused, cocking an eyebrow at Missy.

"You're in _love_!"

Ruby managed to get the drink to her mouth before Missy made her exclamation, and had immediately spit some of it out onto the table.  
Ruby didn't say anything as she dabbed her mess with a napkin.  
Missy waited patiently, a playful smirk tugging her mouth.  
"You're not saying anything. I knew it."

"But how could you tell? That, I mean, that its love and not just, lust or a crush?"

"You're glowing."

Ruby contemplated it for a moment. She thought back to her guitar. She still played the song every night without fail. Maybe Missy was just full of it, and wanted something to gush about.

"Well, I think it might just be this new moisturizer I've been using.. "

Missy just shook her head, the smirk still sitting on her face.

After the girls had finished their meal, Missy took Ruby to a nearby clothing store.  
Missy was babbling on about Bam and the house, possible kids and marital problems.  
But Ruby was lost in her own little world.  
Was she in love?  
And again, she thought, what if it's not Ville? If it was, wouldn't have something happened by now? How long was this supposed to take anyway? What if it took years?

An old song had popped into her head earlier at lunch.  
It was from one of her favorite Disney movies. Growing up, Ruby had always loved those animated films. She especially loved the romance.

Missy was in a dressing room when Ruby was softly singing to herself.

" _If there's a prize for rotten judgment_ _  
_ _I guess I've already won that_ _  
_ _No man is worth the aggravation_ _  
_ _That's ancient history_ _  
_ _Been there done that._ _  
_ _Who'd you think your kidding?_ _  
_ _He's the earth and heaven to you_ _  
_ _Try to keep it hidden_ _  
_ _Honey we can see right through you_ -"

"You always loved that song."

For a few seconds it didn't even register to Ruby what was happening.  
She slowly moved her eyes over.

Sam.

They both grew up here, what did she expect.  
But still. They were living in Philadelphia. Did he move back here? Or was he just visiting? Why did he have to happen to he in the same shop in the same town as her at the same time?  
None of that mattered.

"Nice dress." It had been particularly warm that day for being the end of November. Ruby was wearing an oxblood colored dress that reached her knees and dropped off at the shoulders. A pair of plain black flats were on her feet.

"Look at all those tattoos you have now. Why'd you go and do that?"

"Because I wanted to." Was Ruby's reply. Her heart was already pounding in her chest.

"You know, you never gave me an explanation."

Ruby's throat felt like it was closing up. Her dress suddenly felt like it was getting too small for her. She could feel her hands starting to tremble, so she casually held them behind her back. She might not get another chance like this, and she didn't want to chicken out. She swore to herself that if she ever saw Sam again that she wouldn't come off as weak.

"Do I really need to explain why I left?"  
She didn't let him answer.  
She looked at him fully now, his icy blue eyes an uncomfortable familiarity.  
"How about this?"  
She held her arm up to him to show her scar.  
"Do you remember that?" 

"Ruby who are you talking to?" She heard Missy say from inside the dressing room. 

"That was an accident and you know it." Sam was putting on his psychotic facade. The logical, superior attitude that he adopted when he was trying to brainwash her. 

"Right, right. You accidentally sliced up my whole entire arm. I could have bled to death, you know. There are actually a surprising amount of important veins in this part of the arm." 

"So you're a doctor now are you?" 

"You're avoiding the subject."

Sam hated when Ruby called him out like that and she knew it.

"I gave you everything, you know. And what did I get in return? Your faggot brother sent a picture to the head of the music academy and I got permanently banned. Do you know how hard it is to get work as a musician when you get exiled from the school you were in?"

"This is the first I'm hearing of this, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the picture was of me bleeding out in the back of my 'faggot' brother's car. You hit me, Sam. Do you remember? This scar may be the only one you can see, but I've got a lot of other wounds that you inflicted upon me."

"Then hit me."

Sam's face was like stone. Again, not exactly admitting that he had done what he had done, but beating around the bush.

"I said hit me. If it would make you feel better."

Ruby felt that Missy was behind her now. Missy knew that this was Ruby's fight, and she should just let them say what needed to be said.

"Sam. I want to hit you. In fact, some times I want to kill you. But you know something? If I hit you, then I'm no better of a person than you are. Do me a favor. If you ever see me again and have something to say, just hold your breathe instead."

And with that, Ruby turned and walked out of the store, Missy following while glaring back at Sam.

Once outside, Ruby started to speed walk up the street. 

"Ruby where are you going? We can just get the car if you want to leave the area!"  
Ruby walked just a few more shops over before she turned into a little alleyway, where she walked a few feet in and suddenly dropped to her knees. 

She was struggling to breathe.

One hand was on the dirty ground, while the other tugged at the neckline of her dress. Tears began rapidly falling from her eyes in fat drops; they pattered down on the dirt underneath her.  
"RUBY? Oh my God do you want me to call an ambulance? I'm gonna call an am-"

"Do NOT call an ambulance." Ruby managed to choke out between tearful sobs and the struggle to breathe. Her finger tips felt like they were going numb, and the dizziness that was taking over her head started to make her feel nauseous.  
"I'm gonna call Bam okay? We'll take you back to the house to calm down."  
Missy walked to the mouth of the alley, perhaps to block Ruby from any prying eyes.

Ruby had forgotten her medication back at the bus. She knew exactly where it was, too. In her little purple bag of toiletries, tucked away in a corner of her bunk.  
She remembered that she had forgotten them as soon as she heard Sam's voice. And she knew that however the situation could have gone, this was going to be the outcome.  
The brick walls around her seemed to sway in the wind, and Ruby lowered her torso to the earth, pressing her forehead and palms into the dirt to try and ground herself. Maybe she looked like she was having a serious praying session.

Only a moment later, Bam and Ville spotted Missy flagging them down.

The men both looked behind her. 

"Ruby? Ban why didn't you tell me that Missy was with Ruby?" 

"I don't even know who the hell ruby is?" Ville heard Bam say as he rushed over to her.  
She was practically laying down on the ground. Her eyes were screwed shut, tears dripping off if her face and onto the ground.  
Her whole body quivered.

After Jasper had told him about the panic attacks, Ville asked Burton if he could borrow his laptop. He used some shitty cafe wifi to look up what to do if someone is having an episode.

Ville carefully put his hands under her arms and gently lifted Ruby away from the ground.  
When she opened her eyes and saw him, she lunged straight into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face into his chest. 

"Just breathe. I'm here. Just breathe." 

She shook as they held each other. 

"I'll go get the car." Ville heard Bam say.

"Were going back to Bams house, is that okay?"

"Yes. P-please. Jasper c-cant know about this."

-

Back at Bam and Missy's, Ville had brought Ruby up to a spare room. 

"Please leave the light off." Ruby muttered as they entered. Ville was grateful it was still early in the afternoon, because Ruby was in no condition to be performing. 

Ruby suddenly pulled her dress over hear head and flung it across the room. Ville was frozen at the door.  
She was in a black lacy bra and underwear set.  
"Thought that thing was going to choke me to death." She said. Ruby stood in front of the bed, her head bent down, her hair shielding her face like a curtain. Ville saw the large cat eyes at the top of her back.

"Ville."

"Yes?"

"Will you please hold me. Just for a little at least?"

Ville's hand quivered just slightly as he closed the door. They each kicked their shoes off and climbed onto the bed.

"Lay down on your back." Ruby instructed. Ville did as he was told. Ruby pulled herself close, laying on her side, flush with Villes body, and laid her arm across his chest. He could feel the heat radiating off of her.

"I'm gonna close my eyes. Just make sure I don't oversleep..." She muttered into his shoulder, and with that, she was out.

Whenever Ruby experienced an attack, for her the 'hangover' was sometimes worse than the actual attack. She usually tried to sleep for a while after having one, not wanting to deal with the shaking, dizziness and feeling of suffocation that sometimes actually ended up making her physically sick.

Ville could almost feel how fast Ruby's heart was beating. He rested his arm on top of hers, which was draped across his chest. His other was at her shoulder, his thumb stroking up and down on her skin.

About 73 minutes is how long they were completely still and silent. Ville had been awake the whole time. Ruby was asleep, and he couldn't help but stare at her.

The way how her smooth, white skin dipped in and out of curves drove him insane. Her hair was still a curly mess from the previous show. Ringlets fell over her sleeping face.

Ville was just starting to drift off when he heard Ruby softly say, "Who told you?"

Ville looked down. Her eyes were open but she was looking at the wall across from her.

"Told me what."

"About my panic attacks."

"Jasper."

"Ah."

Ruby slowly sat up, pulling away from Ville to his own dismay. The spot where she used to be was now growing cold.

"You did really great, you know."

Ville admired her. Seeing her like this, was something he thought he could get used to. Her hair a wavy mess, her black, lacy bra a lovely contrast against her alabaster skin. He could _really_ see all of her tattoos now. The whole curling sleeve of lilies and jasmine. The blue roses that he had seen on her thigh went up and covered most of her hip. There were actually some curling letters hidden away under her arm, across her ribs.

"Most people don't react well in that type of situation," Ruby continued as she watched Ville explore her body with his eyes. A small amount of heat rose to her cheeks. "It makes a lot of people uncomfortable... they'll tell you to 'calm down', 'you're overreacting', or my favorite one by far, 'get over it'. Hell, I've even dated some guys that have gotten _angry at me,_ because they think I'm having a hissy fit over a guy I was with before them."

Ruby's heart began to pound again, but not from her episode. She was acutely aware that Ville and herself were completely alone in this bedroom, and she was only in her undergarments.

Slowly, Ruby got on all fours and made her way over to Ville. She stared directly into his eyes, which in her opinion was one of the most intimate things you can do to a person outside of sex.

Ville read her loud and clear. Ville started to sit up, but Ruby put a hand on his chest, and he laid back down.

Ruby moved her limbs over, and she was on top of him now. She leaned down, closing the gap between them, and they kissed.

Ville ran one of his hands up her thigh and rested it on her rear end, while the other rested on her hip.

Their kisses became more urgent, their lips colliding in a velvety heap, over and over again. Tingling raced up and down their bodies.

Ville's hand slid away from her hip, and made it's way down to the hem of her underwear. Ville was staring into the ocean again. Ruby's hips moved forward ever so slightly, forcing his fingers down the front of her panties.

Ville slid his hand all the way down, his fingers finding a very slick entrance. Ruby shuttered, a shaking breathe escaping her mouth. He slid a finger inside her, and a moan escaped her. Ville grunted, he was becoming painfully hard.

He slid his finger in and out for a moment, then added in another. Ruby hovered above him, eyes closed, her pouty lips parted as they let out each shaking breathe. At some point she started to breathe heavier, and Ville stopped. Her eyes opened with a pleading look.

"You don't get to do that yet." He said.

He took his hands away from the lower half of her body, and reached up to unclasp her bra. It fell away, and Ville took in the sight of her.

"Beautiful." He said, and he reached down to free his erection from his jeans.

Ruby was suddenly lifted and shoved over onto her back. Ville made his way over her, their eyes burrowing into each other.

"Do you still want this?' He asked.

"...yes."

"I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"Please." She practically begged.

Ville reached down and shoved her panties to one side, exposing her glistening, pink womanhood.

His erection throbbed.

Slowly, he lowered his hips, lined himself with her, and slowly slid inside. They both let out shuttering moans.

He couldn't take it anymore. Ville began to pump back and forth, the warm slickness of her sex almost instantly bringing him to the brink. Shivers and tingles ran up and down their bodies, as if experiencing an orgasm of the soul. Ruby was moaning and gasping, every noise escaping her driving Ville a little more insane each time.

Ruby couldn't believe how _good_ it felt. It had been such a long time, she had almost forgotten what someone else touch felt like. Ville leaned down and kissed her as he continued to pump into her, picking up the pace along the way.

"Ville... I...I.."

She needn't say anything else.

There was an explosion of heat and sensation as they collided again and again. Ruby's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her orgasm clamping down on Ville's erection. That was the breaking point for him.

He released inside her, a swirling cloud of light taking over his vision. Their moans intertwined like a song, each shaking and sweating under the direction of their combined release.

Ville lay on top of her, his head resting on her chest. He could hear her heart thumping away.

Ruby rested one hand on the side of his face.

She stared up at the ceiling and thought of nothing.


	10. Chapter 10

Ruby thanked Bam and Missy for letting her finish out her mental breakdown in their home. She admitted she was actually extremely embarrassed that Bam had to see her that way.  
On television he was always portrayed as an asshole, but he could actually be really sweet, and he assured her that it wasn't a problem.  
Missy called them a cab, and Ruby left to wait outside.

Missy went elsewhere in the house, leaving Ville and Bam by themselves.

Ville was a blank slate. He had looked out into the ocean, and he never really found his way back. He was drowning in her.  
For the next few minutes, not a single word was spoken.  
Bam could see in his friends face that he was struggling on the inside.

Gravel crunched loudly as the cab pulled up to the house.  
Ville didn't even look at his friend as he started to walk towards the door.

"Ville."

He paused at the threshold.

"Yes bam-bam."

"Don't fuck this up."

Ville paused, grunted, whether in agreement or acknowledgment neither of then knew, and he was gone.

On the way back to the venue, neither Ville nor Ruby said a word.  
He so desperately wanted to know what she was thinking.  
He couldn't tell if she was mad, or regretful, or happy maybe. Her face was completely neutral.

Ruby reached over and squeezed Ville's hand.  
A good sign? He thought to himself.

The first night that she had played, he had seen the three stars. His love.  
He already knew that she was beautiful. He knew that she was smart, and talented, full of life and sass and all the things that made them balanced.  
And what had just happened.  
Their souls had touched.  
There couldn't possibly be a doubt in her mind that she had felt it too.

"Ruby?"

"I'm on birth control, if that's what you've been waiting to ask me."  
Her face still didn't show any emotion.

"How did you know I wanted to ask you something?"

She glanced at him.  
"Well, you've been looking over at me, more than usual. Your body is tense."

"But that's not what I wanted to ask you."

Ruby sighed. She shifted her weight, turning to face him.

"Yes I've been tested. No I don't have anything."

"Ruby stop that right now."

She flinched a little.

"How can you be like this after what just happened between us?"

"Because there's still something that I need to figure out."

"What did she say to you."

"What?" Ruby knew exactly what. Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. "Stop here please." She instructed the cabbie. They were about a block away from the venue. Luckily the streets were practically empty.

They both got out, facing each other but Ruby had her head hanging down. Ville closed the gap between them and lifted her chin up. She did so without putting up a fight.

"The first day of autumn. What did that old woman say to you."

Ruby shook her head. She felt like crying again. "I think that's between me and her."

"But what if its bullshit."

"And what if it isn't?"

Ruby stepped closer. "Ville, what if it isn't bullshit? Huh? Why? Did she say something to *you?"

"Kind of."

Ruby strung her eyebrows together in annoyance.

"Ville listen. I don't know what you _think_ you know about me. I think you're a little confused about your feelings because you're thinking with your other head."

"Is that what you think? That I only wanted to fuck? Didn't you feel it, Ruby?"

She did. She felt like they were two oddly shaped puzzle pieces that somehow fit together perfectly. And maybe the guitar thing *was bullshit. Maybe she was pushing him away because of some stupid idea in her head that if she followed through with, she would find what she was looking for.

"Ville listen to me. I like you. I like you a lot. And what happened today, nobody has made me feel like that in a very long time. But if... if this thing is true, and it's _not_ you... then I'm wasting both of our time." Her face read despair. Ville felt he could just tell her about the three stars, but a voice somewhere told him not to.  
Ville had finished his journey. Fairly quickly. He knew that the woman in front of him was one he was going to love, with his whole body and his whole soul and his whole heart. But she wasn't there yet. There was a demon gnawing at the back of her brain.

Ruby bit her lip and started to walk away.

"What's your favorite color."

"What?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"...Blue."

"What shade of blue? There's too many different shades. Baby blue, powder blue-"

"Sapphire Blue. Ville, what the hell are you on about?"

"I just..." Ville walked up to Ruby and held her hands. She didn't try to resist.  
"...can we just pretend like things are how they were before today."  
Ruby looked at him, a small frown on her face.

"I don't regret today, okay? And I'm sorry that I led you on. Just give me some time. Please."

-

Ville gave her time. He knew that if they were to be together, he just had to wait. But the waiting was the hardest part. The other difficult part was how bad he wanted her.  
She was like a succubus on the stage, hypnotizing the crowd, and him especially.

Every night he would watch as she played her guitar to herself before the show, and then afterwards she would take her pill.

For 7 shows it was like this. Ville grew more anxious as the days went by. Ruby would talk to him here and there, but it just wasn't the same as before.  
Before, her face would light up every time she saw him.  
Now she gave him a small smile and would move on with her business.

But what Ville didn't know was that every night after their shows, when she was alone and tucked away in her bunk, she would silently weep.  
She wondered if she was doing it wrong.  
She wondered if, because of her fascination with romance and fairy tales, she was dooming herself to push Ville away.  
Every time she saw his face, it was a painful reminder of her internal battle.  
Was the old woman just crazy?  
What had she said to Ville?

It dawned on her one night that maybe the old woman had given Ville his own task.  
Maybe he had completed it.  
Maybe he hadn't, and didn't care about the consequences a relationship with her would have on his future.

They didn't have very long until the tour was over. About a week.  
And if this so called love prophecy didn't come to fruition before then?  
Ruby supposed that's the way it was going to be then. 


	11. Chapter 11

[6 days until Aftershock]

Today, the bands had a day off. They were in Oklahoma, and a band that Ruby really liked, Nothing More, was playing a show nearby.

Mostly everyone was shoved into one tour bus, playing games and making music.

Ruby was sitting on the floor in the bunk hallway, guitar in her lap, sheet music spread on the floor.

A pair of black rimmed glasses sat on her face.

"I didn't know you wore glasses!" Seppo exclaimed upon seeing her.

"I only need it for reading and stuff..." Ruby had said, and continued with what she was doing.

Just one more attribute about her that made Ville fall in love with her a little more.

This past week or so, Ruby was feeling more and more crushed about the situation between her and Ville. She was trying to work on new songs for a new album, but every time she sat herself down to make some music or lyrics, she couldn't.

If she wasn't able to make music for her fans, then who was she? If she was unable to represent what she stood for, then she felt she didn't deserve to be up on that stage.

"Hey guys, I propose we pre-game drink before the show, who's with me?" Jasper suggested. Ninety percent of the bus crowd cheered in agreement. Literally everyone in the bus left, except for Ruby and Robert. Robert stood by the entrance to the bus as the others started to head off.

She could feel his eyes on her.

"Bubba, I'm fine."

"Really? Because you don't look fine."

Ruby looked up from her sheet music, a look of total annoyance across her face.

"Bubba just let me try and do this, okay?"

He didn't look very happy to go, but Robert slowly made his way out of the bus, leaving Ruby in total silence.

* * *

At the bar, shots were being passed around.

Ville watched from the end of the line, his eyes focused but his mind completely somewhere else.

Much to his disnmay, Jasper was sitting right next to him, and he could feel that he was about to hound him with questions.

"So..." Jasper began. Ville sucked in a breathe and let out a long, sad sigh.

"Why has my sister been avoiding you? Hm? Something I need to break your fingers over?"

"Jasper..." Ville drug a hand across his own face. "Ruby just isn't interested in me is all." Ville _almost_ felt like he could have a drink at that moment.

Jasper frowned at him. It only just occurred to him how miserable Ville looked.

"Whoa man, what happened?"

And Ville cracked. It might have sounded so fucking absurd to Jasper, but he told him everything. Well, everything except the part where they slept together. He told Jasper about the old woman and the three stars, and how he was sure the old woman had said something to Ruby. But he couldn't figure out what. Was he _supposed_ to know?

It took a moment for Jasper to process all of this. He had taken quite a few sips of his potent drink while Ville told him the story.

"So..." Jasper said, looking off into the distance, a deep look of thought on his face, "You saw the three stars, and now Ruby has to do her thing, and it may or may not be you?"

Ville looked at Jasper with painful eyes. He could tell Jasper was quite tipsy at this point.

"Well...you just gotta find out what it is, right? I mean, what if the old lady said something like 'when you're in California, then yada yada yada?'"

"But how would she know that Ruby was going to California?"

"How did she know about the three stars?"

"She could have seen them herself."

"Hmmm... I doubt that.." Jasper said, sloppily sipping at his drink, "She usually covers those up with makeup or something, cause she got that when she was with Sam still. She got them and he saw them and yelled at her probably, and she started covering them up with makeup so Sam wouldn't have to see. I think even after they broke up she still did it out of habit." Jasper nodded to himself, sucking on his drink some more.

"But even so..." Ville said, resting his chin in his palm, "She said she didn't want to waste my time or whatever. That she didn't want to lead me on. She won't let me get close anymore."

"Maaaan, just do it. Chicks love it when dudes are assertive. Just... tell her you're here and you're not going anywhere. I don't fuckin' know man." Jasper leaned over to one side, his head resting on Robert's arm.

Robert turned, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Do NOT puke on me, skinny white boy."

Ville sighed, got up, and started to head back to the bus.

The air was only slightly cold, definitely not as cold as it would be back in Finland. It would be snowing there soon.

Ville trudged up to the bus, only to find that it was locked. Seppo must have done so.

Ruby was alone in the other bus.

 _Chicks love it when dudes are assertive. Just... tell her you're here and you're not going anywhere._

Ville took in a cold, staggering breathe, and opened the door to the other bus.

He quietly walked up the steps and shut the door behind himself.

Ruby was still in the little hallway of the bus, but her guitar was strewn to the side, and her face was covered with her hands. A tiny sob escaped her.

Ville rushed over, kneeling to her side.

"Ruby? Ruby are you okay? Do you need your medicine?"

Ruby looked up from her hands, startled. She had headphones in, which explained why she didn't hear him enter the bus.

Her ocean eyes were a storm of sorrow.

"I... I'm just normal c-crying." More tears welled up as she looked into his face. Ville sat fully on the ground now, wrapping his arms around Ruby and pulling her close. Was it wrong of him to think she was a beautiful crier?

Her tears started to soak through his shirt, and she clung to him.

"Escape." She said.

"Hmm?" Ville put a finger under her chin and lifted her head. There he was in the ocean again.

"Escape. By Rupert Holmes. That's my guilty pleasure song."

Ville cocked his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

She continued, "I love Asian food. I can't whistle. I only like my eggs over easy. Don't ever give me anything grape flavored, except for an actual grape."

She stared into his eyes for a moment. His were a deep green. She was lost in the forest again.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, I-"

Ville hushed her with a kiss. They lingered like that for a moment, Ruby only once letting out a tiny muffled sob as their lips were connected.

"Listen to me." Ville said. "Even if I can't have you now, I'm still here. You don't need to avoid me, you don't need to feel guilty. I want to be here for you. Okay?"

Ruby's face scrunched up, and tears poured over her face again. She nodded violently, then continued to cry as Ville held her.


	12. Chapter 12

Ville helped gather up Ruby's sheet music and guitar. He waited patiently has she brushed her hair and wipe away any left over tear tracks on her face. Before the two of them left, Ruby grabbed her guitar and slung it onto her back.

The sun was lowering on the horizon.

The other band members were rounded up from the bar and corralled to the venue where Nothing More would be starting their set soon.  
The opening bands had already started playing, and the thumping bass from inside the venue could be heard out in the streets.

They had contacted the owners of the venue beforehand, and were given special wrist bands that gave them access to back entrances and special viewing spots, as to not get bombarded by fans.

As everyone was making their way into the building, Jasper, who was more than buzzed at this point, smacked his fingers on Ruby's guitar strings and said, "Gonna play a song for _Jonny_ , carrot top?"

Ville noticed Ruby blushed as she shoved Jasper away.  
"Who's Jonny?" Ville asked her casually.

"The singer."

"Ah, so your type is the lead singer, huh?"

"I don't have a 'type'." Ruby said, quoting her fingers around the last word.  
Ville looked at her with a confused look.  
"Types are... shallow. 'I'll only date a woman with dark hair', 'I'll only date a guy that's taller than me.'... you're basically putting down anyone that isn't in that category. If people think so close minded like that, all they're really doing is excluding themselves from the opportunity of dating some awesome people. If you can make me laugh and smile, I guess that's my 'type'."

Ville admired her. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but he guess he really did go after the dark haired model types usually.  
But when he had seen Ruby for the first time, there wasn't even a question in his mind that he liked her.  
With each passing day he liked her even more. Loved her.

The group was appointed into a private balcony type seating area. Ruby sat between Ville and Jasper.  
" _Wouldya belieeeeve with time comes graace, in per_ \- OOF." Ruby swung a fist at her brother's stomach before he could finish singing in her ear.  
"Yall should have cut him off!" Ruby exclaimed angrily as she looked around at the others.  
"I'm looking at you Bubba." Robert turned pink and looked away.  
"Don' be mad you gotta little _crush_ on Jonny boy, _strawberry short cake_!" Jasper laughed obnoxiously and slapped his knee.  
"For fucks sake." Ruby muttered to herself.  
Ville was watching with half amusement and half jealousy.

"Hey, you, miss!" There was only two females among them, Ruby and Jan, but everyone looked.  
Near the entrance to the private seating area, a security guard was pointing directly at Ruby.

"Oh! Um, I'm sorry I didn't even ask if I could bring this in-" Ruby stood, holding her guitar by the neck.

"Nah I don't give a shit about that, the band wants to see you."

Ruby clamped her mouth shut, a look of surprise on her face and blush coloring her cheeks. She glanced back at Jasper, who was also in total shock. She shrugged her shoulders, and turned to follow the security guard.  
Ville felt a sinking in his stomach as he watched Ruby walk away, the glossy, black body of her guitar reflecting the lights that surrounded them.

And that's when it hit him.

Whatever the old woman said to Ruby, had something to do with her guitar.  
Every night he would watch her play to herself. Every night at sunset.  
There weren't any windows in the venue, but Ville knew that the sun had started to set when they walked in.

-

Ruby followed security back to what she could only guess to be the green room. Nobody was even around.  
Before she could say anything, her escort had already left.

The lighting was dim, the room was decorated with dark furniture and decor.  
At the back of the room there was a table filled with drinks and food. Ruby could already spot a massive platter covered with fruit, and she bee-lined over to it.

She was in the middle of munching on a strawberry when a voice said, "Is that how you keep your hair that color?"  
She looked up to see none other than Jonny Hawkins, front man of Nothing More.

She was so surprised that she choked a little, and Jonny swiftly came over, "Hey, hey, don't die in me now! Here, if you like strawberries, then wash down with this."  
Ruby, who was still struggling with some fruit stuck in her throat, took the drink he offered her and started chugging.

-

Over an hour had gone by. The last opening band was almost done with their set, and Ruby still wasn't back. Ville was getting extremely nervous, and he wasn't the only one. Robert was watching everyone like a hawk. Jan didnt seem that concerned. The boys of his band were seeming a little anxious, probably because they've been picking up on Ville's feelings towards Ruby.

Jasper was denied drink service, granted he was already tipsy, but now he was beginning to sober up.  
"Wait..." Jasper said suddenly. "Did Ruby bring her guitar in here?"

"Yes." Ville growled.

"You know Ville... I just thought of something.. what if her guitar is the-"

"I've already come to that conclusion."

"Every day at sunset?"

"Mhm."

"Didn't the sun already set?"

"Shortly after we got here."

"Didn't Ruby go back there shortly after we got here?"

Ville looked at him sideways, his eyes bulging in a no-fucking-shit kind of way.  
Jasper frowned as he connected the dots.

"Well, maybe nothing even happened?" Jasper tried to force a smile.

"Its been over an hour."

-

Back stage, the mood was a little different.

Ruby was standing on a couch, drink in hand, narrating the story of the night of her choke cello performance.  
Unbeknownst to her, the drink that Jonny had given her was alcoholic. She loved it so much, she began sucking them back faster than she should have.

It wasn't until she was already coming on with a strong buzz that she realized this. She tried to politely decline when she was offered more, but ended up folding.  
Jonny had told her he was at one of her shows previously and he really liked her style. When he noticed that she had her guitar with her, he asked if she would play him a song. He seemed so polite, and not to have any ulterior motives, so she accepted.  
The other members of the band had shown up, and she was already so inebriated that her personality was even more silly and lovable than it usually was.

"So there I was, in this stupid canary yellow dress, sitting in front of hundreds of people-" even some members of the opening bands had come to watch the entertainment. "I put my bow up to the strings... and... I choke!"  
Ruby dramatically grabbed at her throat, trying not to slosh her drink that was in her other hand. The boys jeered and booed.  
"I know, can you believe it? And to top it off, my high heel snapped on my way off the stage, and I fell into some equipment, and that's how I got _this_ -" Ruby angled her arm up towards the light, the outline of her scar somewhat visible.

The tripping part of the story had been something she fabricated for when people got curious.  
There were some oo's and ah's from the group. 

"Okay guys you're on in five!" Someone yelled. 

Jonny and the other members of the group hopped up from their seats.  
"Jonny?" Ruby called to the only person who's name she really remembered.  
He came over and helped her off the couch.

"Do you want me to get your brother?" He asked, holding her steady at the waist.

Ville was about to leave his seat when the same guard from earlier appeared again.

"You, tall and skinny."

Both Ville and Jasper stood up.

The guard sighed and rolled his eyes, "The one with the Ozzy shirt."

Jasper sat back down.

Ville followed the guard to the green room, where he found Ruby sprawled on a couch, her guitar on top of her.

She was lazily strumming the strings, eyes closed.

Ville came up to the couch and knelt down beside her.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

She opened her eyes, and her face immediately lit up.

"Ville!" She went to stand, but almost fell over.

"Ruby are... are you drunk?"

A deep chuckle escaped Ruby's lips, and she leaned in close to him. "Maybe."

"Let's get you back to the bus, eh?" Before leaving, Ville shot Jasper a quick text to let him know what was up.

Ville held Ruby's guitar in one hand, and held on to Ruby's arm with the other.

When they made it back to the bus, Ville had one hell of a time getting Ruby up the bus steps.

The whole time she was grabbing at him. He carefully put the instrument on one of the couches and led Ruby over to one of the bunks.

"Wait, there's a bigger bed back here." She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the back of the bus.

Ville knew where this was going, and he didn't know if he should keep letting Ruby have her way.

Before he knew what was happening they were furiously kissing each other. Her mouth tasted like strawberries, and her skin felt like velvet under his hands. She was pressing her hips against his, and she could feel his rock hard erection digging into her.

"Ruby, you didn't want to do this, remember?"

Ruby responded by grabbing his hand and placing it on her breast. He let out a chuckle and shook his head.

Her eyes were a swirling sea of drunkenness. He knew he couldn't let this continue.

He sucked in a breathe as her hand was suddenly on his crotch.

"Listen, baby, I know what I said. But I can't stop thinking about you. So let me just do this one thing for you, okay?"

Her tone was low and dangerous. A storm was brewing in her ocean eyes.

Slowly, Ruby sank to her knees, dragging her hands down Ville's torso along the way.

Her head tilted playfully to one side as she undid his belt, then button, then zipper. Her hands were warm.

She took his throbbing erection in her hand, then wrapped her tongue around the head.

Ville gasped; her tongue was pure silk.

Her head went down, and she took him in fully. Ville's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his hand tangled inside her hair. She started working away at him, stroking, sucking.

The bus was completely quite, beside the sound of Ruby's wet mouth, and the ragged breathing coming from Ville.

"Ruby!" Ville practically cried out. Her response was to dip down as deep as she could go, engulfing him fully.

Ville let out a quivering moan as he exploded inside her throat. His member continued twitching as spurts of hot cum continued to let out.

Satisfied, Ruby slowly pulled her head away, releasing him with a little _pop!_

She tucked him back in, then stood. Ville was still basking in the glow of his orgasm, his eyes glazed over in a sheen of pure ecstasy.

"Hey, Ville." Her eyes swam, her chest rose and fall sensually.

"Yes darling."

"I think I love you."

Ville's mouth dropped open slightly, but before he could say anything, Ruby removed her shirt and crawled onto the bed beside them.

Her eyes were shut before her head even hit the pillow.


	13. Chapter 13

[5 days until Aftershock]

Overnight, the buses made it to Texas.

Jasper, who knew he needed to prepare for the inevitable, was asleep on the floor next to Ruby, a small trash can in his lap.

About 5 in the morning is when Ruby was awoke by a sour feeling in her stomach.

"Oh. My. God." She knew she always drank too fast, on the rare occasions that she drank at all.

She unlocked her phone to see what time it was, and, not surprisingly, was blinded by the light. Ruby painfully squinted her eyes as she struggled to lower the screen brightness.

When her eyes adjusted, she found that the last thing she had been looking at, was a video.

She pressed play.

"Hey, waddup this is Jonny!" Jonny's big grin took over the screen for a second. The room was still dark, and Ruby hadn't been aware of Jasper's presence yet. "I am here with the lovely Ruby Noir, who is gonna play a song for us!" Jonny's hand reached up near the screen, and the camera flipped to face Ruby. Ruby didn't remember any of this.

In the video, she was sitting on a couch, guitar in her lap. Going off of the stupid grin on her face and her hazy eyes, clearly she had been drunk at that point. She watched herself as she giggled like a fucking idiot before positioning her hands and started to play.

Ruby audibly gasped as she realized what she had done.

She was playing the love song to Jonny.

Ruby put a hand over her mouth and began to cry, as the phone's audio was heard clearly throughout the room. Jasper was quietly frozen on the floor, putting all the pieces together.

Her favorite love song.

Every night at sunset, she had to play her favorite love song.

Until what?

When the song ended, Ruby smiled at the camera. Then the screen went black.

With tears still streaming down her face, Ruby lunged out of the bed, heading through the bus while furiously searching for her guitar.

She found it resting on a couch near the front.

Ruby quickly inspected it, making sure all the pieces were there. She plopped on the floor and swiftly played a few chords. It was fine. She was fine.

A deep sigh escaped her, and she replaced the guitar on the couch with a shaking hand.

"Hey." Her eyes snapped up to see the dark outline of Jasper at the entrance to the hallway.

"What?"

"Did you have a good time last night?"

"Just shut the fuck up and give me that trash can."

* * *

Once Ruby had emptied her stomach and slept for a few hours, she felt like she could manage to get out of bed.

It was about 8 in the morning, and she was eternally grateful that the bus was no longer moving. She assumed they had made it to Dallas, where their next show was being held.

It seemed she had passed out on her jeans and bra. Ruby shoved her old Chuck Taylor's on, and found a large black sweatshirt to pull over. With shaking legs, she made her way down the bus steps, and emerged out into the cool, Texas morning air. The sun had already risen; the city was bathed in sunlight, and the birds were happily singing their songs.

Ruby blocked the sun from her eyes with a large, droopy sleeve. Maybe she would go back in for some sunglasses.

"Here."

She looked over to see Ville. He was in the same clothes from the previous night as well. His arm was stretched out to her; in his hand was a pair of shades and a Go-gurt.

In that moment, Ruby thought she might start crying. She had played the song for Jonny, and even though nothing had come from it (That she could remember anyway) She still felt an extreme amount of guilt. But wasn't this the point? To see what would happen?

Ruby accepted the items from Ville, putting the sunglasses on her face and ripping the top off of the yogurt tube. Ville watched her curiously; she seemed to be in a very deep state of thought.

It was then that she made up her mind.

When the opportunity presented itself where she could privately play the song for Ville, she would.

They were almost done with the tour anyway, and if it didn't work out, it was likely that they wouldn't be seeing each other again anyway.

* * *

Ruby spent most of the day trying to get some more sleep. She didn't want to be sluggish for the show.

As per her routine, Ruby played the song for herself, took her medication, and got ready for the show.

It made her nervous, not knowing when she would be able to play her song for Ville. She knew the next night was a bust, because they were playing their next show in Arizona. After that they had two days off, one of which would be spent seeing Starset perform, and the next would be spent at Disneyland.

After the two days off, they had a show in Anaheim, and then the end of the tour would be the next day at Aftershock. Somewhere in those two days off, she would have to make her move.

Her heart was filled with hope.

Even the members of her band could tell, she was signing and moving with more passion than usual.

And as always, Ville watched her. He didn't know what had happened when she was away last night, but he could see that something had changed in her. Her spark was raging, her emotion a bleeding heart on her sleeve.

She was his goddess in the spotlight.


	14. Chapter 14

[4 days until Aftershock]

Through most of the trip, it had been cold, and sometimes rainy. But it was unbelievable how hot it still was in Arizona.  
Even when the sun had barely rose in the sky, the air was heating up.  
Everyone agreed that it would be in their best interest to find somewhere to swim.

It wouldn't be very wise to randomly show up to a public pool; most of the members just wanted to relax and not be bombarded or paparazzi'd from a distance.  
After Ruby did some Google map searching on her phone, they settled down at Lake Pleasant, only about an hour away from the venue.

Everyone gathered their bus snacks into a strange, unhealthy pot luck.  
Considering it was expected to be cold throughout the tour, mostly everyone packed something to swim in, oddly enough. Some of the boys from both sides had to deal with swimming in their underwear, however, not that anyone minded.

Ville had packed a pair of black jean cargo shorts, and he stuck with those.

His jaw dropped when Ruby stepped out of her bus.

She wore a simple bikini, her favorite color of sapphire blue. The color went wonderful with her alabaster skin, the cool tones of her body and bathing suit contrasting against the heat of her hair.  
She could have worn a trash bag and looked great; her body was slim but curvy.  
She skipped over to Ville, his heart jumping a little as her breasts bounced.

"Are you going to go swimming?" She asked, her white smile almost blinding him in the sunlight. "Please?" She asked, grabbing onto his hand. He was inclined to refuse until she had gotten a hold of him. The breeze had picked up, and that confectionery smell she seemed to carry everywhere was swirling around in his brain.

Jasper, Janiel, Mige, and Linde joined them in the water. They splashed, swam, and played for a long time.  
It was hard for Ville to look anywhere except at Ruby, her wet hair and naked skin was a marvel to look at.  
He noticed little freckles appearing on her shoulder tops and the bridge of her nose.

For the brief moment that he _wasn't_ looking at Ruby, making conversation with Janiel, she had sank under water and scared the crap out of him when she grabbed his ankle. She resurfaced, laughing heartily.

"I HOPE YOUR'E WEARING SUNSCREEN," Seppo roared from the shore, "FANS ARENT PAYING GOOD MONEY TO SEE PERFORMING LOBSTERS." everyone laughed. They were all having a genuine good time.

Ruby had noticed how Ville couldn't stop glancing at her. The feeling was mutual. With his hair slicked back by the water, she could really see every curve and sharp edge of his facial features. It hadn't helped that when she saw him without his shirt on, his shorts were dipped dangerously low, and the sight of his pelvic bones drove her crazy.

"I'm gonna get some water really quick." Ruby said, and waded her way to the shore. As she walked off to the bus, Jasper exclaimed, "Oh! I was gonna ask her to grab my belt while she was in there, my damn shorts keep falling down."  
"I'll go get it for you, Jas." Ville said, and followed Ruby's trail. Most of his band mates were either munching on food or were asleep in shady areas. Mige was still in the water with Janiel and Jasper, and Robert and Seppo were in the HIM bus, avoiding the heat altogether.

Ville climbed the short steps into the other bus. Ruby was nowhere to be found. 

He heard a muffled noise from the back of the bus. 

"Ruby?" 

Ville opened a few of the bunk curtains, but found neither Ruby nor Jasper's belt.  
He opened the very back curtain, and what he saw made his heart stop.

Ruby was sat at the edge of the bed, bikini top gone, legs spread, and one of her hands down the front of her suit bottom. Her eyes were round with surprise, and her face was turning red fast.  
Ville said nothing as he closed the curtain behind him. Ruby stood, her arms crossed over her chest. Her heart was racing.

Ville closed the gap between them with one long stride. He looked into her eyes, and slowly took one of the suit bottom's strings in his fingers and tugged it free. He did the same to the other side, and the suit bottom dropped to the floor. It seemed that Ruby might be a little self conscious being the only one completely naked, so Ville removed his shorts. She still remained silent, but Ville could read her body.

"Do you remember what you did for me the other night?" He asked, brushing a hand along the curve of her hip, sending shivers up and down her body.

"No?"

" _No?_ " He echoed, now taking a strand of her wet hair between his fingers and playing with it, "I'd like to return the favor, if that's okay with you."  
Ruby was soaking wet, and at this point her love song was the very last thing on her mind.

Ville put his hand on the small of her back and directed her onto the bed.  
Seeing her, completely vulnerable, laid out in front of him, made his heart ache.  
He knew she was determined to see this guitar quest through to the end. Ville had no idea how long that was going to take. It could be tonight, it could be five years from now. And he would wait for her, no matter how long it took, because he knew in the end she would be with him.  
He didn't know it, but Ruby shared almost the same mentality. That she would give herself to him until they had to go their separate ways, because she needed to live in the now.

Ville ran his tongue from her navel down to her panty line. He teased her as he ran the tip of one finger up and down the length of her slick entrance.  
He slowly started to work his tongue around her clit; Ruby moaned sensually.  
As he was massaging her with his tongue, he slipped a finger inside of her. He felt her muscles tighten as he did so. She tasted delicious, and Ville drank up every moan and gasp she was letting out.

"Ville."

He paused, looking up at her pleading face.

"Please... I need you..."

He tasted her once more before crawling up to meet her.  
He looked out into the ocean. She looked out at the forest.  
They stayed like that for a moment, almost communicating without speaking, feeling each others sorrow as their time together was coming to an end.

Ruby reached up and put a warm hand on the side of Ville's face. He closed his eyes, then leaned into her hand, kissing her palm.

"Turn over." He instructed. Ruby did so, positioning herself with her toned ass facing out.  
"Damn, do you work out your ass? Is that a thing? Ass exercise?"

"I do squats every damn day!"

They giggled together.  
Ville placed his hand at the top of her spine, lightly dragged his fingers about halfway down her back, then positioned it on her hip. With his other hand, he gently guided himself inside her. A pleasant noise escaped Ruby.  
Ville still couldn't believe how tight and slick she was. He began grinding into her, the position they were in allowing Ville to thrust as deep as he could go.  
He held her by the hips and started to thrust harder; Ruby gripped onto the sheets, moans and passionate cries escaping her.

They suddenly froze when they heard the door to the bus slam open.  
"I just needed my damn belt!" They heard Jasper yell.  
There was some muffled yelling from outside.  
"No, I don't know where they are!" He yelled back. There was some shuffling around through the bunks.  
Slowly, Ville leaned over Ruby, placed his hand over her mouth, and thrust himself into her, hard.  
A muffled cry of ecstasy vibrated within his fingers. He gripped hard onto her hip, and started slamming into her. He could feel her muscles tensing up around him.

Jasper's footsteps disappeared towards the front of the bus, and the door was slammed shut shortly after.

Ville released his hand from Ruby's mouth just in time for her to let out a quivering cry as she orgasmed. He went over the edge along with her, gripping hard into her hips as he unloaded.  
They stayed like that for a moment, panting, soaking in the moment. Ville pulled out, then made his way over to Ruby, where he held her close.

"Ville?"

"Yes darling."

"What else did I do the other night?"

 _"Hey, Ville."_ __

 _"Yes darling."_ __

 _"I think I love you."_

She could see he was lost in thought. When he came to, he said, "Nothing too exciting."  
And then he held her close.

-

The group played at the lake for another hour or so, until one by one they started to get sick of the heat, or complained that they needed some real food.  
They packed up ship and headed off into Tempe.

As they got ready for the show, Ruby sped through her song, faster than usual, irritated and anxious that she couldn't play it for Ville right then and there.

On the stage, she sang loud, and she sang passionately. With every note, she would move her body, trying in every possible way to make the biggest impact with each word. It still amazed Ville, how she had this never-ending source of raw energy.

He hoped, with all his heart, that she would realize that they were meant to be together. 


	15. Chapter 15

[3 days until Aftershock]

Everyone was now migrating over to southern California. The air was still warm, but not as unbearable as it had been back in Arizona.  
Most of the members were just taking a day to rest, write music, or sleep.

Ever since Ville and Ruby had made some kind of unspoken, telepathic agreement that they would fool around until this was over, they found it hard to keep their hands off each other. It was even harder for Ville, who in his mind, thought they were practically an item.  
When no one was looking, they would steal a kiss, or in more opportune situations, cop a feel.  
He could touch her and that was great, but it just wasn't the same knowing that she wouldn't allow herself to open up her heart to him.  
They sat together in the air conditioned bus, the one that HIM was using, and worked on their own songs.

He loved watching her in this state.  
Her usual casual outfit consisted of ripped black jeans, an old, faded band t shirt, and her hair was usually up in a messy bun. Her Ray Ban brand glasses sat on her face, usually in front of a puzzled or thoughtful face. She had an enormous binder filled with sheet music and lyrics that sat next to her.  
Periodically she would pick her guitar up and strum out an idea, then went back to writing something down or daydreaming.

As the sun started to wind down, Ruby started to get a knot in her stomach.

Ville could feel her glancing at him.

"Feeling frisky, darling?" He asked her.

It wasn't until he looked up at her with his full attention that he noticed a fine layer of perspiration across her face. The cheeky tone left his voice, "What's wrong?"

Ruby gulped down the saliva that was building up in her mouth.

"I uh... just think maybe I ate something earlier that didn't agree with me I guess."

"Do you not want to go to the show tonight?"

"No!" Ruby's guitar slid out of her lap and thumped against the floor. "I mean yes, uh, I do want to still see the show. It's just I've been working on this song and I want your opinion on it... I guess I'm just nervous about what you'll think..."

Villes breathe caught in his throat. 

He hoped that this was the moment he had been waiting for. 

Ruby reached for her guitar to put it back in place when Jasper suddenly opened the door to the bus.

"Hey we should get going, the show is gonna start soon. Ruby, I'm strictly forbidding you from accepting strange drinks tonight, understood?"

Ruby felt as though she could be sick. She scrambled up off of the floor, shoved some stray papers back in her binder, and followed Jasper out of the bus without saying another word. 

Ville was left by himself, a small ache in his heart.

-

The venue that they were watching Starset at did not have a private seating area like when they saw Nothing More. Instead, they were ushered into the back wings of the building, where they would be able to watch from the sidelines.  
Ruby was excited for their performance. She excitedly explained to Ville how they were all about science and knowledge. They used spectacular technology and equipment in their show.

Everyone was settled into a nice seating area with some refreshments, when it sounded like there was some commotion happening.  
There was someone audibly cursing, and interests were peaked enough that a few people left the room to see what was going on.

Ruby was the first to leave the room, tailed my Jasper and Ville. A second later Burton, Seppo and Robert followed suit.  
In the hallway near Starset's green room, a ring of people were huddled together.  
Right away, Ruby recognized someone's clothes as belonging to medical personnel, and she muttered an "Oh, shit."

"What are we going to do now?" Someone said.

"I guess.. can we even play without him?" Asked another.

Ruby peered over the shoulder of someone, and once she got a look at what had happened, she flinched back.  
"What? What did you see?" Jasper asked.

"His hand," she said, unconsciously placing a hand over her scar, "it's all messed up."

Ruby was suddenly acutely aware of a pair of eyes on her. She wasn't the only one, Ville felt his defenses heightening when he noticed a man not far off eyeballing Ruby.

"Wait a second..." Ruby said as they were approached.

"Dustin Bates." The man said, holding out a hand to Ruby. She eagerly stepped forward, wrapping both hands around the one he had extended.  
"You're Ruby Noir, are you not?"

"Yes! , it's so good to meet you!"

Ville felt his face heating up.

"I'm not an old man, please just call me Dustin."

"Oh! Of course." Ruby's eyes were lit up; she felt she would never get used to people recognizing her, especially people she looked up to.

"It seems we've come across a dilemma. That's my cellist down there with his hand completely fucked."

"What happened?" Ruby asked, suddenly crushed. She was stupid enough to get plastered before she got to see Nothing More, and she never got to see the show. Now it was more than likely she wasn't going to get to see Starset, either.

"I'm not entirely sure.. something along the lines of falling and using his hand to break the fall..."

Ruby's face was sympathetic.

" you don't have to be so humble."

Ruby, Ville and Jasper were dumbstruck by Dustin's sudden statement.

"What do you mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You were one of many people to send audition tapes for the touring cellist of Starset. You were very close competition with my friend here. I've seen many of your other performances at the music academy you attended. Your form is impeccable and your music is moving. You can read music, can't you?"

Ruby was suddenly very excited and very nervous about where this was going.

"Follow me. Your friends can come as well."

The three of them followed Dustin to a room where a lot of the band's equipment was being held. A gorgeous Cello was already unpacked, resting on a stand and ready to be played. Dustin scooped up the bow and handed it to Ruby.

"So, how long has it been since you last played?"

The bow clattered to the ground.

Ruby sprinted over to a trash can that she had spotted on the way in, and promptly puked into it.

"That long, huh?"

_

Ruby had a spare pill in her pocket. She took it with some water after she felt she wasn't going to be sick anymore.  
She truly hadn't touched a cello since the night that she had choked, over two years ago.

It took about 20 minutes for the pill to start taking effect on her. By then, makeup and wardrobe had had their way.

She was put in a clean cut woman's pant suit. Her long hair was slicked back into a curling ponytail, and the makeup artist gave her simple winged eyeliner and a bold red lip.  
Ruby and the violinist, whom she was introduced to during this process, were to be wearing special face visors that lit up to the music. Ville silently stood by as she was made up.

A member of the clothing department got irritated with Ruby when she started rolling her sleeves up to the elbow.

"They get in the way of my range of motion." Ruby said flatly. Dustin smiled confidently at her.

Ruby was still numb inside her body. The medication helped sooth her shakes and nausea, but her heart still hammered in her chest.  
Time was closing in on them, and they could hear the anxious crowd awaiting them.  
"Five minutes!" Someone yelled, and Ruby jumped.

Just as she was about to be led out onto the dark stage, Ville came up to her.

He gently took her hands into his own.

In this moment, Ruby was experiencing some eerie dejavu. Except this time, she wasn't in a dress, but a pant suit. She wasn't back home in Pennsylvania, but in California. And this was Ville, not Sam. 

Her confidence wavered regardless.

Ville tilted her head up by the chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. Her visor wasn't lighting up yet, but the plastic still left a fog over Ville's forest eyes.

( _"Dont fuck this up.")_  
Sam's malicious line delivered crystal clear into her mind

Ville stroked his thumbs over Ruby's knuckles.

"You'll be amazing." He said.

A single tear fell down the side of her face.  
Ville reached up and wiped it away.

-

It was time.

Bass started to rumble throughout the enclosed room. People cheered and screamed.

Laser lights and projected images lit up the stage.

"We have a special guest here tonight." Dustin told the crowd.

"How many of you are familiar with The Arcane Few?"

A mass of cheering and screaming erupted from the crowd again.

"As some of you may know, they've been touring across the US with HIM. Well, they just so happen to be here with us tonight. Unfortunately, earlier we had a bit of an accident with , and he wont be able to perform."

There was a mix of confusion and anger among the crowd.

"Luckily, we have the lovely Ms. Ruby Noir of The Arcane Few to help us out."

A spot light shone down on her. She was resting in a chair, cello positioned between her legs. She looked out at the crowd as they cheered for her. Tears threatened to fall. But she held steady, not smiling or reacting, just composing herself enough to hold it all together. But it almost felt good to have a bow in her hand again.

( _"You'll be amazing.")_

Ville watched her from the sidelines. She was stiff. Perhaps petrified.

As a light shone down on her, and the crowd cheered. She looked back over her shoulder at him.

He gave her two thumbs up, and a big smile.

Her eyes held for a moment, before a large, white smile spread across her face, tears spilling from each eye.

The music began.

Ruby reverted back into her old self in a matter of seconds.

She straightened her back, focused her eyes on her sheet music despite the light up visor over her face, and played.

She wasn't totally unfamiliar with this music; as Dustin had mentioned before, she had auditioned to be part of the band. She had done so behind Sam's back, knowing he despised heavier music.  
She was here now, and it was incredible.

Ville watched as her body slowly unwound as she gave herself to the music. Her arms and fingers worked fluidly, effortlessly moving over the large instrument.  
At some points in the show she was even bold enough to close her eyes and completely lose herself.

Ville didn't know how he was going to be able to say goodbye to her and the end of all this.


	16. Chapter 16

Authors note: Okay so, I know at the beginning of this story, I mentioned this story would be set post Ville rehab, so around 2008 or so but I just found out that Aftershock didnt start until 2012... whoops! Oh well it's a made up story so who cares

[1 day until Aftershock]

Ruby woke when the sun started to shine into the bedroom.  
Her eyes opened slowly and heavily; she hadn't slept this good in a long time.

Ville was already awake. His forest eyes were drooped, but open. He had his elbow propped up on his pillow, his head resting against his hand. He looked down at her as she slowly came back to earth from her slumber.

Her ocean eyes pierced him. The morning sunlight was bathing them, and her irises soaked up the light. They had never looked more clear.

"I love you." He said.

She responded by bringing herself forward, making her body flush with his.

"I know." She mumbled into his neck.

-

Nobody said anything to Ruby when she arrived back at the bus. Janiel knew that Ruby could handle herself, so she didn't seem too concerned. Robert was _always_ on the defense when it came to their front woman, so he was relieved when she came back seemingly normal. Jasper, on the other hand, was on edge.  
Ville and himself have cracked the code - or so they thought.

They both knew that Ruby needed to play a specific love song on her guitar every night at sunset. But then what?  
It drove Ville crazy not knowing what the next step was.  
His task was the easiest, most simplistic thing ever. Why did hers seem to have so many different components?

Clearly whatever was supposed to happen, didn't.

Ruby spent most of the day holed up in her bunk, refusing offers of food and conversation. She was periodically asked if she was okay, and she assured each one that she was fine.

When the night was drawing closer, Ruby decided to lag behind and play her song in the bus instead of the green room.  
Somehow, Ruby had a weird suspicion that Ville knew about her guitar being part of what the old woman talked to her about.  
She would have felt bad for playing when he was near.

When Ruby showed up to the green room without her guitar as she usually did, Ville and Jasper were equally confused.

As she got ready for the show, Jasper pulled Ville aside.

"Did she play the song for you last night?"

"Yes."

"Did anything happen?"

"Well... not really?"

Jasper looked off into nothing, a look of annoyance and concern on his face.

Tomorrow was going to be the last day of the tour. Jasper liked Ville, and he could see that his sister liked him too. The looked good together, like they belonged together, and Jasper had been watching Ville closely to make sure he was a good man.  
Hell, Jasper even found a stash of Go-gurts in the HIM bus fridge. All her favorite flavor, strawberry. If that didn't say love, he didn't know what did.

Ruby felt shame as she took her medication.

She had fucked up.

She had her chance to play the song for Ville, and she screwed it up. This was a secret she wanted to keep.  
She thought, maybe in the future if she was given the opportunity, she would do right by him. But she was scared in that moment, playing for him. Scared of what would or wouldn't happen.

She assured herself that in two days it would all be fine, because everyone was taking a plane back to their homes, and Ville would forget all about her and everyone could be happy again.

Ville watched her as she fought out her internal battle.  
She sat like a statue, frozen, staring into another dimension. It was always easy to tell when she was in a deep state of thought that way.

As always, he watched her. A graceful tiger that captivated her audience.

"You know," Seppo was telling him while he watched, "We've had more sold out shows on this tour than ever before. Maybe we should take these guys with us on a European tour?"

Ville shrugged one shoulder. If they _did_ go on a European tour with HIM, it would be a while before that happened. Hopefully everything would be okay by then. 


	17. Chapter 17

Authors note: Okay so, I know at the beginning of this story, I mentioned this story would be set post Ville rehab, so around 2008 or so but I just found out that Aftershock didnt start until 2012... whoops! Oh well it's a made up story so who cares

[1 day until Aftershock]

Ruby woke when the sun started to shine into the bedroom.  
Her eyes opened slowly and heavily; she hadn't slept this good in a long time.

Ville was already awake. His forest eyes were drooped, but open. He had his elbow propped up on his pillow, his head resting against his hand. He looked down at her as she slowly came back to earth from her slumber.

Her ocean eyes pierced him. The morning sunlight was bathing them, and her irises soaked up the light. They had never looked more clear.

"I love you." He said.

She responded by bringing herself forward, making her body flush with his.

"I know." She mumbled into his neck.

-

Nobody said anything to Ruby when she arrived back at the bus. Janiel knew that Ruby could handle herself, so she didn't seem too concerned. Robert was _always_ on the defense when it came to their front woman, so he was relieved when she came back seemingly normal. Jasper, on the other hand, was on edge.  
Ville and himself have cracked the code - or so they thought.

They both knew that Ruby needed to play a specific love song on her guitar every night at sunset. But then what?  
It drove Ville crazy not knowing what the next step was.  
His task was the easiest, most simplistic thing ever. Why did hers seem to have so many different components?

Clearly whatever was supposed to happen, didn't.

Ruby spent most of the day holed up in her bunk, refusing offers of food and conversation. She was periodically asked if she was okay, and she assured each one that she was fine.

When the night was drawing closer, Ruby decided to lag behind and play her song in the bus instead of the green room.  
Somehow, Ruby had a weird suspicion that Ville knew about her guitar being part of what the old woman talked to her about.  
She would have felt bad for playing when he was near.

When Ruby showed up to the green room without her guitar as she usually did, Ville and Jasper were equally confused.

As she got ready for the show, Jasper pulled Ville aside.

"Did she play the song for you last night?"

"Yes."

"Did anything happen?"

"Well... not really?"

Jasper looked off into nothing, a look of annoyance and concern on his face.

Tomorrow was going to be the last day of the tour. Jasper liked Ville, and he could see that his sister liked him too. The looked good together, like they belonged together, and Jasper had been watching Ville closely to make sure he was a good man.  
Hell, Jasper even found a stash of Go-gurts in the HIM bus fridge. All her favorite flavor, strawberry. If that didn't say love, he didn't know what did.

Ruby felt shame as she took her medication.

She had fucked up.

She had her chance to play the song for Ville, and she screwed it up. This was a secret she wanted to keep.  
She thought, maybe in the future if she was given the opportunity, she would do right by him. But she was scared in that moment, playing for him. Scared of what would or wouldn't happen.

She assured herself that in two days it would all be fine, because everyone was taking a plane back to their homes, and Ville would forget all about her and everyone could be happy again.

Ville watched her as she fought out her internal battle.  
She sat like a statue, frozen, staring into another dimension. It was always easy to tell when she was in a deep state of thought that way.

As always, he watched her. A graceful tiger that captivated her audience.

"You know," Seppo was telling him while he watched, "We've had more sold out shows on this tour than ever before. Maybe we should take these guys with us on a European tour?"

Ville shrugged one shoulder. If they _did_ go on a European tour with HIM, it would be a while before that happened. Hopefully everything would be okay by then. 


	18. Chapter 18

[0 days until Aftershock]

California was heating up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun beat down on everything.

Today was the day.

Ville and Ruby were at their normal spot, the coffee-and-yogurt duo propped up against a bus. Ville watched as Ruby intensely scrolled through her phone.

"There's some really good headliners today... Steel Panther, Butcher Babies, The Offspring... and do you know who the star of the show is today?"

Ville cocked his head at her.

"The prince of darkness himself."

" _Ozzy_?"

"Yup."

They were both kind of awestruck, _honored_ really that they got to share the same 2 mile radius with Ozzy.

The day was happening like this – The Arcane Few were going to be playing at one of the smaller stages around 3 PM or so. HIM would be playing almost at the same time at a slightly bigger stage. Usually the 'smaller', less well known bands would play in the afternoon or early evening, saving the main attraction for last, on the biggest stage. Ruby was a little disappointed that she was going to have to perform in broad daylight – it stole a little of the ambiance away, compared to playing inside a dark, closed in venue. The thing that _Ville_ was disappointed by however, was that this was going to be the first show of the tour that he wasn't going to be able to watch Ruby.

Ruby was actually scared to death. Today, she would play in front of the most amount of people she ever had before. She was used to clubs and bars that could hold about 300 people max, and today there would be thousands. Not that she was expecting a _huge_ turnout for her band, but she was still nervous nonetheless. This was their chance to _really_ make an impact. She was confident that they had did amazing throughout the tour so far, but today was the day that was really going to count.

Thousands of people poured into the park. The area was littered with food trucks, beer stands, merch tables, and porta-potties. Some people wore plain jeans and t-shirts, while others stepped out in intricate mesh outfits, colored contacts and spikes-n-studs galore.

Some people were already drunk by 11 AM. The smell of sweat, alcohol and smoke filled the air.

The speakers that were set up on even the smaller stage impressed Ruby, she had never seen equipment so nice. Ground shaking bass could be felt and heard all over the park as the day progressed on.

The time was drawing closer to when The Arcane Few and HIM would be performing, and Ruby was turning into a nervous wreck. The most she could do was sit on a couch, fully clothed and ready to go, nervously turning out tunes on her guitar. Ville wasn't around because he had his own show to go to.

He wanted to say good luck or something along those lines to her before she was supposed to go, but he was hurried over to the area that they would be playing in before he got the chance.

Ruby had started to grow worrisome before he had left, and he was nervous that her medication wasn't going to be enough to keep her sane this time around.

Of course, he was used to playing to crowds this big. He had been a part of this game for a very long time, and this amount of people didn't seem to phase him anymore.

It was still bright and sunny outside, but the sun was starting to lag off to one side of the sky. In a few hours or less, the sun would be setting.

HIM played, and though Ville wanted to give his whole body and mind to his performance, it still didn't stop him from trying to spot Ruby. He knew that they were hundreds of feet away at another stage, doing their own thing, but he still liked to think that she was watching.

As Ville sang his songs, of love and sorrow, he thought of her. He didn't know what was going to happen after today. Very early in the morning, they were to be leaving on a plane back to Finland, and Ruby and her friends were going to be on their way back to Pennsylvania.

Should he demand that she come with him? Would he tell her that he would wait for her, no matter how long? He had told her that he loved her. And she had acknowledged that. He didn't take offense, and he wasn't upset. They both knew the gravity of the situation they were in. He probably only made it harder for her by telling her that he loved her. But he felt he _needed_ to tell her. In that moment, when he had watched her wake, and her ocean eyes were as clear as the sea water on a warm, sunny day, he felt the need to tell her.

Ville had always had this mentality, that if he wanted something, he would get it. And he wanted Ruby, badly. To call her his own. But he knew that Ruby was on her own journey, as stupid and tedious as it was. And he respected her, He only wanted her to be happy. They had enjoyed their time together, whether they were making love or making music. Those two things came hand in hand for Ville, and they did both beautifully. A quote Ville had heard recently, would frequently pop into his head during his contemplative moments like this.

" _I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once_."

He loved Ruby, completely. But if she wasn't ready for him, he would wait. He could wait. She was worth waiting for.

After HIM had finished their set, the boys were taken to a shaded tent, where they could cool off and relax. Ruby was waiting there.

"You don't look nearly as sweaty as me, darling. What's you're secret?"

"We didn't go on." Ruby's face was stone. Her eyes were drilling off into a black cloud of nothingness. Her limbs were stiff.

"What?" Ville closed the gap. She was sitting in a metal folding chair. He knelt down to be level with her face. Her hypnotized eyes were staring right through him. "What do you mean? Are you okay? What happened?"

Ruby's mouth opened, then shut again. Her eyes focused on him now, and they began to swell with tears. Before Ville could say anything, there was some commotion behind him.

"-and I said ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!" Shrieked a familiar voice. Ville turned his head, and Jasper came strolling into the tent. He was clearly buzzed, with a beer in one hand and the other around the shoulder of a groupie.

Robert and Janiel came in only a moment later, Robert saying "Jas, she needs to leave. This is a private area for band members only."

Robert cocked his head at a security guard, who promptly, but nicely, escorted the strange young woman out of the area.

" _Also,_ " Robert continued, "You should NOT be drinking right now."

"Why?" Jasper asked, "I'm just getting geared up for when we go on later!"

"I'm cutting you off-" Robert snatched the beer out of Jasper's hand, "Because you know for a fact that this is going to make or break us."

"Will someone please explain to be what's going on?" Ville asked. He was standing beside Ruby now, holding her head against his hip. Tears silently fell down her face as she sat like a frozen doll in the metal folding chair.

"We got moved." Robert said. He pulled a chicken scratch schedule out of his pocket. "Something along the lines of somebody's bus broke down, some other band had to be moved, shows are being rescheduled... and..." Robert had a grave look come over his face. The paper was still held up to his eyes, but he wasn't looking at it.

Burton, who was the closest to him, carefully reached up and took the paper from Robert's hand.

"...Holy shit." Burton muttered, his eyes going round.

Ville looked at him, irritated and expectant.

"They're opening for Ozzy."

It was dark now. A mass of people were swarming the main stage.

It was time for The Arcane Few.

Ruby watched from the side of the stage as an enormous banner, one she didn't even knew they owned, rolled out at the back of the huge stage, presenting a set of intense blue-green cat eyes.

There were cheers. People really knew who they were.

Ville was off to one side as he watched Ruby.

She was wearing a crushed velvet cropped tank top, sapphire blue. Her slim and curved midriff was on display. She wore a matching circle skirt that flowed to the middle of her thigh. Her legs were wrapped in large net stockings, and a pair of black Doc Martin's were on her feet. Her hair was teased and tousled, giving her a glorious lion's mane. A makeup artists thought to cover her body in fine glitter, and her skin dazzled underneath the stage lights.

There was a moment where Ville had to slip away, and when he arrived back, he was frozen in the shadows. Ruby had been where he had last seen her, watching as the crews set up the stage for them, but there was someone with her. Ruby's eyes were huge and sparkling. A hand was on her shoulder, clad in big silver rings and black painted nails.

Ruby was talking to Ozzy.

He was grinning at her, almost seemingly reassuring her of something.

As Ozzy turned and walked away, both Ville and Jasper ran up to her.

"What did he say to you? What the fuck did Ozzy fucking Osbourne say to you?" Jasper said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly.

Ruby was at a loss for words.

She had her hand to her chest, her fingers wrapped around something.

"What's this?" Jasper asked. He pried her fingers open, and a white pill slipped and went clattering away on the floor.

"Ruby, is this your pill? You still haven't taken it? You were supposed to take this like an hour ago!"

Jasper went to find it on the floor.

Ville took Ruby's hands into his own.

"How are you feeling."

"I..." Ruby looked up into his eyes. "I actually think I'm okay."

"Here," Jasper said, panting as he made his way back, "I think someone from the stage crew stepped on it, but I'm sure you'll be okay."

"I'm not going to take it, Jas."

Jasper looked her dead in the eyes. To him, she seemed calm and collected. Normally so close to going on, she would start to get shaky or dizzy. But she seemed... perfectly okay.

Jasper made sure Ruby saw him put the pill in his pocket. It would be there for her, just in case. She acknowledged that, and gave him a slight not, along with an appreciative smile.

"So as most of you know, In This Moment wasn't able to make it here tonight." Ruby said into her microphone.

It was the end of their set. They just enough time to play one more song.

"Being this is the end of our adventure, I wanted to play this song as a tribute to them, a tribute to you guys, and even though this is the end, it's really just the beginning."

 _Hello, can you see me  
I am standing right here  
Hello, are you listening?  
Can you hear me?  
I am, I am screaming in your ear_

 _I have nothing to fear  
I have nothing to say  
You have nothing to take this from me  
Years of screaming in pain  
Years of anger and rage  
I will not be your slave_

 _So here we are  
This is the end  
But all that dies  
Is born again  
The scars will still remain  
From the ashes, I will rise again  
Goodbye, hello_

 _Goodbye  
I leave you in this moment  
It's time to strip you of this hold  
Goodbye  
I will shed myself of this memory  
But you  
You won't forget me  
I will haunt you til the truth unfolds_

 _I have nothing to fear  
I have nothing to say  
You have nothing to take this from me  
Years of screaming in pain  
Years of anger and rage  
I will not be your slave_

 _So here we are  
This is the end  
But all that dies  
Is born again  
The scars will still remain  
From the ashes, I will rise again  
Goodbye, hello_

 _So here we are  
This is the end  
But all that dies  
Is born again  
Hello  
Hello  
Hello_

The crowd screamed for them. Ville felt hot tears pooling in his eyes. He was going to have to leave such an amazing woman. He knew, that in time she would come to him. But it still didn't ease the pain he felt in his heart.


	19. Chapter 19

[1 year later]

 **METAL HAMMER**

 _Ruby Noir talks Charities, Traveling, and Love_

 **Exclusive interview with Ruby Noir**

_Lisa Day_ : Hello everyone! I'm here with Ruby Noir of The Arcane Few. How are we doing today, Ruby?

 _Ruby_ : I'm not too bad, Lisa. A little jet lagged if I'm being honest.

 _Lisa_ : I see! You just got done with a pretty big tour I've seen.

 _Ruby_ : Yes, all across the United States. I think we stopped at 37 out of the 50 states.

 _Lisa_ : How have you liked touring with Nothing More?

 _Ruby_ : They're great. The group's energy is just something unmatched. They've taken very good care of us.

 _Lisa_ : What do you expect after your new album comes out? Or rather, what should the fans expect?

 _Ruby_ : Well, the album will be titled 'The Arcane Few: Bittersweet'. Our self titled album was all about childhood nostalgia, teenage hormone drama, all the bullshit and heartache that comes with growing up. Bittersweet is really what we've come to cultivate from putting those experiences out into the world in the form of music, and how people received that.

 _Lisa_ : So you're saying that you've really received mixed reviews when it comes to your music?

 _Ruby_ : I usually see fans weeping or smiling at our shows.

 _Lisa_ : Speaking of your shows, I see that you've made some considerable charity contributions using your ticket sales.

 _Ruby_ : Yes. Animal Welfare Institute, Cancer Research Institute, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.. those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head.

 _Lisa_ : And you've accumulated over $400,000 for these charities.

 _Ruby_ : Yes! We're very proud. A little ambitious actually, Jasper and I went a few days without electricity because we didn't have enough money to pay our power bill.

 _Lisa_ : So you still live with your brother? Would this suggest there's no man in the picture?

 _Ruby_ : (Laughs) Well, I haven't really had time.

 _Lisa_ : Isn't most of your music centered around love? Where do you get your inspiration from?

 _Ruby_ : You don't necessarily need to be in an active relationship to experience love. There's so many different ways to experience it. With my band, my fans, my colleagues. But having someone to sleep next to at night definitely would help.

 _Lisa_ : I see you have a new addition to your tattoo collection. Is that a heartagram?

 _Ruby_ : Yes.

 _Lisa_ : Your first tour was with HIM. Have you had any contact with them since?

 _Ruby_ : Janiel and Mige are really good friends. Robert likes to stay in contact with Seppo, their manager.

 _Lisa_ : Any future plans for touring with them again?

 _Ruby_ : We'll have to see. Were half way around the world from each other and we're all very busy.

 _Lisa_ : Do you ever reminisce about opening for Ozzy?

 _Ruby_ : Every day. It was something of black magic I sometimes think. It was an amazing moment of pure luck, and I owe a lot of our exposure to that.

 _Lisa_ : Everyone agrees that it was a great stepping stone for The Arcane Few. I'll expect this wont be our last interview with you. Well thank you for inviting me into your home, Ruby.

 _Ruby_ : You're very welcome, Lisa. 


	20. Chapter 20

It had been just over a year since Aftershock. 

The Arcane Few had gone leaps and bounds since then. Interviews, TV show guest spots, tours; their world was a new and exciting whirlwind of adventure and fame.  
Janiel, at one point, flew to Finland for a little while to hang out with Mige. She ended up accidentally reconciling with her father, and it was an enormously emotional thing that spread over social media.  
Robert got married. There was a groupie that he became particularly fond of, and it blossomed into something unexpected and beautiful.  
Ruby and Jasper still shared an apartment together. They could have easily bought their own houses with the money they were making now, but neither of them felt the need to make any drastic changes.  
Their lives were taking off, and Ruby was so proud of everyone.

When the new album dropped, Robert was contacted by Bam. He wanted to know of they were interested in letting him direct a music video for them.  
When Ruby found out, she demanded they start production immediately.

-

The filming location was at Henderson Mansion, a historic Victorian house covered with bricks and crawling ivy.  
Bam pitched his idea of the band playing out their song in the main living area of the house, with shots of each member encountering apparitions and other spooky stuff.  
Bam and Robert had been working together for the last few weeks, ordering all of the equipment, staging all the props and instruments, and figuring out the costumes.  
Since they would be filming in an old Victorian house, Bam thought it would be perfect if the band wore time period costumes.  
When Bam showed Ruby her dress, she was elated. "Playing metal in Edwardian clothes? So juxtapose, I love it."  
Bam felt her contagious enthusiasm.

The boys would be wearing waist coats, trousers, and gloves. Janice wanted to wear trousers and a jacket as well, and when Bam wanted to argue, she pointed out that not only was he trying to feminize her against her wishes, but if only Ruby was wearing a dress, it would make her stand out more. Bam folded.  
Ruby adored the dress that was picked out for her. It really wasn't her style, but she wore it amazingly. It was floor length, long sleeved, high necked with puffy bell shoulders. The color was a deep blood red with lacy black accents.  
Jasper and Janiel had relatively short hair, so theirs was slicked back. Robert had always kept his glossy, native American hair long, and he refused to let anybody touch it.  
Ruby was given a half up half down hairstyle, the upper half pulled back with a black velvet bow.

On the first day of production, everyone was excited.

Ruby was upstairs in the house, applying her makeup in a dusty, floor length mirror.

It was during times like these, when she was alone with her thoughts, that she would think of him.  
She wondered if Ville really meant it when he said that he loved her. And if he did, if he still felt that way.  
After her performance at Aftershock, he was gone. She never got to say goodbye. She wondered if he thought it would be easier.

She wondered if he had a girlfriend. Or maybe a wife by now.

When she thought back to all the moments they shared together, it didn't seem real. Every kiss, every touch, every conversation wasn't imperceptible. He was a charming ghost wandering the catacombs of her hazy autumn memories.

Bam had called Ville out to the states. He claimed that he had purchased a house, and wanted Ville's ideas on renovations and decor. Ville tried to brush him off, explaining that seeing an old house wasn't worth a whole trip to the US, but Bam seemed very insistent. He even paid for Ville's ticket out.

Bam wasn't at the airport to pick him up as he usually would have been, so Ville had to take a cab out to the house.

He watched the changing trees blur by from the window of the car. Yellow, orange, and deep red. The sun shone through the branches and leaves of the passing trees, illuminating the foliage like warm winter fire. At every turn he was reminded of her. There were too many things in life, like the sun and the turning leaves, that awoke the fire that silently smoldered in the pit of his heart.

He was pulled from his trance as the cabby announced their arrival to his destination.  
It was beautiful; the brick mansion loomed over him like an ominous creature. There were cars and vans parked everywhere, so Ville assumed that Bam already had a renovation team started.

Ville climbed the steps to the house and entered. He would have just called Bam if it wasn't for the fact that his phone had died on the way over.  
Marble, wood flooring, vintage paintings - all things that added to the charm of the house. Even the cob webs added to the antique, haunted feel of it all.  
He was surprised he hadn't spotted a worker or two yet, and it was actually suspiciously quiet in the house.  
That is until Ville heard a noise from upstairs.

Singing.

Ville was drawn in by the sound. He climbed the stairs to the second floor. The halls and rooms were a little confusing to navigate, but Ville just kept following the source of the singing. When he was drawing near, it suddenly stopped. It was overcast outside, and the light coming through the windows cast an eerie glow throughout.

Ville slowly turned his head around a corner, and almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of a figure sitting in a chair. When he looked back again, he realized he recognized who it was.

It was Ruby.

She was in a gorgeous blood red edwardian dress. Her long, thick, fire hair was pulled back in a black bow, showing her delicate facial features. She was sitting in an old wooden chair, gazing out a window. Her ocean eyes were looking out at the horizon and beyond, lost in a cosmos of thought.

His heart began to pick up speed.

She looked just as beautiful as the first day he met her.

Every day since he had last seen her, he thought about her. How it had been a whole year already, he had no idea. When he had left for home, and hadn't said goodbye to her, he didn't even know how he was going to keep breathing. Everything seemed boring and mundane when she wasn't around. Her smile, her charm; nothing seemed as bright as it did when she was with him.

He was lost in these thoughts, basking in the mere presence of her, and then he realized she was looking right at him.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then shut it.

They looked at each other for a long minute, trying to read each others body language.  
Ruby seemed rather calm, still sitting in the chair with her hands in her lap. Ville stood in the doorway to the room, tensed up, ready to leave if she asked him to.

"I thought you were a ghost." Ruby said.

_

Bam, along with the rest of the band and the production team, had been behind the house, fooling around in the garden and pitching ideas for filming spots.

When Ville had finally found him, he was forced to confess about what was really going on

"Listen," Bam started, "I really wanted you to be a part of this music video. But I thought that if you knew it was for Ruby, you might not come."

Ville just looked at Bam with a blank face. Of course Ville would have been out here in a minute if Ruby asked him to be, but she was completely unaware of this setup as well. He didn't even know if she had feelings for him anymore.

For one, long year, he had dreamed about her. It almost seemed like a fake memory, his time with her. A flame that had blown out in the wind and forever gone. He thought maybe things would be different this far out, but as soon as he saw her, his feelings only showed themselves stronger. She was still that shining beacon of hope, ready to melt the eyes of anyone that looked directly at her.

He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and kiss her, have her feel the raw love and hurt that he was experiencing.

"I thought I told you not to fuck this up, Ville. Now I have to do some parent trap bullshit." 


	21. Chapter 21

Bam had a very specific idea in mind when it came to Ruby and Ville.  
When the video wasn't focused on shots of the band playing the actual song, it was shots of them. Ruby was like a suicidal widow, constantly haunted by the ghost of her dead love that was Ville.

Every time they worked together, their hormones and emotions would go haywire. Each one was so confused about the others feelings after this past year that they were constantly sending mixed signals to each other. To Ville, one moment Ruby's eyes were full of desire and longing, and then next they would be cold and uncertain.

He would watch as Ruby roamed the gardens of the mansion, surrounded by red roses that shied away from her beauty. She was a fiery symbol of love among their petaled faces, and it almost hurt to look at her.  
Bam, Jasper, and the rest of the team were constantly at the edge of their seats, ready and waiting to see how they would react around each other next. It was almost amusing, like knowing your two friends desperately wanted each other but both were too afraid to admit it.

Bam would direct scenes where they had to be right up on each other, just for the sheer tension of it. It made for some interesting footage.

"So.. how have things been?" Ruby asked as they danced in circles in the ornate ballroom.  
"Well uh-" Ville began, before Bam yelled "QUIET ON SET. VILLE. HOLD HER CLOSE, DAMMIT."  
Jasper and Janiel were spotted holding their hands over their giggling mouths, their faces turning red.  
Ruby tried to catch their attention, sending a smoldering death stare across the distance, but let out a little yelp as Ville yanked her forward, pressing their bodies together as they continued to glide in dizzying circles.

Ruby slowly raised her eyes to Ville's face. He was looking down at her, his forest eyes trapping her in an emerald prison. Her heart started to race. The high, lace collar of her dress started to feel itchy and restraining, and the corset around her waist felt like it was shrinking around her rib cage.  
(THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT she could hear Bam yelling, echoing in the distance although he was only about 30 feet away)  
Ville tilted his head. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to her ear. She heard a delicate sound as his lips parted. He opened his mouth to say something, and his sweet, hot breathe came in contact with the delicate skin on her neck, sending her nerve endings reeling.  
The vibrations from his throat echoed into her subconscious, but nothing was registered as sparkling lights flooded her vision, and she went limp in his arms.

(What the hell just happened)

(Get her out of that dress)

(Is she breathing)

(Ruby)

(Should we call an ambulance)

(Just wait a moment)

"You are..."

(Did she just say something)

"...My sunshine..."

(Ruby)

"My only... sunshine.. "

(Ruby)

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She felt cold, except for the side of her face, that felt like it was on fire. She looked down at her torso that was laid out on the marble ballroom floor, and saw that she was out of her dress, and just in the black slip she wore underneath. She realized that Ville's hand was at the side of her face, and that's where the heat was radiating from. Her hand found it's way to his, but she felt numb, like a ghost under water.

"Are you alright darling?"

Ruby's lips moved, but her voice felt just as transparent as her hand that held onto Ville.  
Ville lowered his ear to her mouth.

He chuckled.

"She wants to know if you got your shot, Bam-bam."

"Sure fuckin' did."

Ruby closed her eyes, a small smile on her face.

It was the last day of filming, and Bam was working with the team to get some wrap up shots in the garden.

Robert had already gone home for the day, and Jasper and Janiel were sitting outside in the cool autumn air. The sun was starting to get low on the horizon, and it cast a deep orange glow around everything.  
Ville hadn't seen Ruby for a while now, but he had a suspicion as to where she was.

He entered the house, and sure enough, he could hear her guitar's music floating down from the second story.  
Quietly, he went to the second floor and crept down the hallway towards the music. As on the first day that he had arrived, it had suddenly stopped when he drew near.

He looked around the doorway, and there she was.

Ruby was still in her costume dress. She was sitting in the same chair from the first day, and her guitar was resting in her lap.

She was gazing out the window, and that's when Ville noticed that she was crying. Silent tears streamed down her face and neck, staining the collar of the dress.

When she suddenly moved, Ville lurched back out of view, his heart pounding.  
He heard Ruby pluck at a couple of strings. And then she started to play.

 _The other night dear, as I lay sleeping  
I dreamed I held you in my arms  
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken  
So I hung my head and I cried_

 _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away_

 _I'll always love you and make you happy  
If you will only say the same  
But if you leave me and love another  
You'll regret it all some day_

 _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away_

 _You told me once, dear, you really loved me  
And no one else could come between  
But now you've left me and love another  
You have shattered all of my dreams_

 _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away_

 _In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me  
When I awake my poor heart pains  
So when you come back and make me happy  
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame_

 _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away_

As the guitar's sound died down, Ville could hear Ruby start to sob.

Every day. She thought, every damn day she has been playing this song, and she had nothing to show for it. Every damn day for over a year, she played this song when the sun set. And here she was. Some nights she wanted to smash her guitar against the wall. Other nights she had plans to fly out to Finland and apologize to Ville for not playing the correct song, because she had been scared.

Ruby suddenly stood, and started to bolt towards the door. Ville panicked, not wanting her to know that he had been eavesdropping, and stumbled into a different room.  
Ruby stomped down the hallway, tears stinging her eyes. She dragged her guitar by the neck behind her.  
As she went to descend the stairs, her shoes caught on the hem of her dress.

She tried to reach out and catch the banister, but her fingers slipped, and her other hand was still holding her instrument.

As Ruby watched herself fall in slow motion, Ville's face was the only thing that was in her mind.  
The weight of her body carried her over the stair railing, and the last thing she saw was the curling veins in the first floor marble tile before everything went black.

She hadn't even screamed on her way down, only sucking in a sharp breathe as she braced herself for the impending impact.

Ville, who was still hiding in another room, his heart pounding, heard a horrendous medley of crushing and cracking.

He raced out of the room, and it wasn't until he was at the bottom of the stairs that he saw her - guitar neck snapped, her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and a pool of blood forming underneath her head.

As Ruby slowly faded out of consciousness, Ville's scent and presence swirled around her, enveloping her soul in a warm and welcome protection. 


	22. Chapter 22

(How long has she been out?)

-

(She definitely has a concussion.)

-

(Ruby? Can you hear me?)

-

Words and blurry faces faded in and out. Ruby had a vague memory of being moved, in which she thought she may have screamed in pain, but anything that was actively happening was almost immediately sucked into a black hole of forgotten memories.

She could sense people around her. People touching her. A sickening ache in her arm. A thousand silver needles pressed into her head. At some point it seemed like a LOT of people were around her, and the noise was just so piercing and upsetting, that she somehow managed to force herself to make some kind of angry noise in her throat. The room was immediately quiet after that.

(I think some of you guys should probably go)

Slowly. So very slowly, Ruby opened her eyes. It was bright in the room, and it took several seconds for her eyes to adjust. The florescent sheen made her eyes water. She wasn't sure how long they had been closed, but they felt like lead doors ready to slam shut again. She forced herself to focus on a clock that was directly in front of her.

It was a black rectangle popping off of the white wall, displaying red digital letters that read 11:54 PM

Ruby forced herself to open her eyes fully now. Clearly, she was in a hospital room. She had been in one before.  
And this is when the panic started to set in.  
She felt restrained, pinned. There was an IV in her arm, and that was the first thing that needed to go. When she tried to reach up to take it out, she found that her other arm felt heavy, use less. She looked down to see her right arm wrapped in a cast.  
Ruby's heart rate started to climb.  
The needle in her arm made her want to suck on her teeth, the sensation so overwhelmingly disturbing that she felt she could vomit.  
She could feel bandages on her head, a tube sticking up her nose, a gown and blankets suffocating her body, and she felt like a fly struggling in a web of medical equipment.  
Nobody was in the room. Not a sitter, not a nurse, not a brother or a friend.

Ville, who was actually only just down the hall talking to the ward clerk, heard an alarm start to go off.  
The monitor tech, who was only a few feet away surveying patient heart rates, casually said "3012's heart rate just skyrocketed."  
The alarm that everyone was hearing, was actually Ruby's bed alarm. Since she came in with a concussion, and was unconscious, she was labeled a fall risk. As soon as her body weight was lifted from the bed, it set off an alarm as to let the nurses know she was on the move when she wasn't supposed to be.

Ruby's nurse, along with Ville, bolted down the hallway to the room. She was already on the floor. Her IV had ripped out of her arm as she had fallen on the floor, and blood was trailing down onto her arm and gown. When she had landed, she landed directly onto her casted arm, and almost immediately blacked out from the immense amount of pain.  
Ruby sat in a heap on the floor, and Ville helped the nurse get her back into bed.

-

(I'm not leaving you again)

-

(Please wake up)

-  
Ruby dreamed. Swirling, colorful images floated in front of her eyes. Nothing was tangible. She felt that she had awoke and fallen asleep again over 40 times in the last few hours; her reality and dreams were crossing over into a mesh of confusion.

She thought at one point she saw Ville, in her dream or in the hospital room, she wasn't sure of which. But all her pent up desires and aggression and longing started to overflow in her state of vulnerability, and she decided she wasn't going to fight it anymore. In that moment of seeing his face in a half blurred reality, all she could manage to say was "I'm sorry.", and she wasn't sure that he could hear her, so she kept telling him. Over and over, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. Hot tears overflowed from her eyes, and left wet track marks down the sides of her tired and sore face. It felt cleansing. I'm sorry, she told him, and his face was a swimming blur of contorted pain and helplessness as her vision faded out to black for the 41st time.

-

Again, Ruby slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark this time, and she was grateful.  
The digital clock across from her read 3:27 AM in glowing red numbers.  
She wished that the numbers were any other color than red. It washed half of the room in a sickening, sinister glow that made her feel afraid.  
When she tried to raise her arm with the IV in it, she found that her wrist was tied to the bed railing. The clattering sound awoke Ville, who had fallen asleep in a chair beside her bed.

Ruby saw his silhouette shift in the darkness, and she lay still.

They both watched each other in the dark, in the silence.

Her arm was broken, she knew that.  
Which meant she couldn't play her song anymore. Even if her arm was still functioning, even if her guitar was still okay (because she was sure it wasn't) she didn't care. There was nowhere to run in this moment, nobody to distract her and nothing to hide from. She was done running.

"You know," Ruby started to say. Ville waited. The tension was driving him mad.

"I haven't had a decent nights sleep since Calif-" the last word was cut off by a crack in her voice. She didn't even try to finish the sentence, but instead just started to cry.  
Ville swiftly made his way over to her, and gingerly held her head to his chest.  
She could hear his heart pounding. Her head ached, but his shirt was cooling and his cologne was sweet, and she cherished it over any pain medication.  
She openly wept, not trying to conceal her sobs. The sound of her emotional release was the only thing that filled the room, that and the eerie red glow from the clock that swirled in her tear filled eyes.

"I-I ..love .. you." She managed to say through her sobs.

"I know, darling."

-

Ruby was in the hospital for five days. After the doctor made sure there was no long term damage caused by her head injury, she had the okay to leave.  
Her arm would take about 2 months to heal, and besides that and some cuts and bruises from practically landing on top of her guitar, she was okay.  
While she was there, Ville stayed with her the whole time. He had brought his own guitar, and had played songs and sang for her. He admired her for her independence, constantly trying to refuse his help when she needed to move around. Though her arm was trapped in a cast (a vibrant purple color, per Jaspe'rs 'executive decision'. "Great executive decision" Ruby had told him), and though her headaches were frequent, she still felt overjoyed in Ville's presence. In the moment where she had told him, 3:27 in the morning, that she had loved him, everything shifted. Their bodies were in tune, their minds were synced, and their old, worn out, colorful souls rejoiced like old friends.

When Ruby was finally released, it was decided among everyone in the band that she needed to take a break for a while.  
"We've got a new album coming out," Jasper said, "I think the income will keep us afloat for a while, so don't worry about it."  
Ruby's right arm was in a sling, and her other was holding on to Ville's hand. Her face was was a mix of worry and irritation.

Jasper glanced down at their entwined fingers. "You guys finally together?"

"Yes." They said in unison.

"What if you went and recovered in Finland?"

Ville and Ruby looked at each other, their faces exclaiming, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Ville helped her pack some clothes. This was the first time he was in her room, and he was a little surprised. The walls were painted a deep purple, but that was the extent of the Ruby aspect of it all. There were no posters, no pictures, no knickknacks. There was her bed, covered in black bedding, a black wooden dresser, her empty guitar stand, and clothes in her closet but that was about it. Not even a television or rug was in the room.

"Why is your room so..." Ville trailed off, looking around at the lack of things to even look at.

"Bare? Boring? Lacking personality?" Ruby said as she pulled a small black suit case out of her closet.

"Yeah I guess."

"Well," she started as she swiftly opened the suit case with one hand, " Every inch of these walls used to be covered in original artwork. I liked to collect precious gems and crystals as well. And books. Records. But when we tried to get the band going, we didn't have a lot to start out with. So I pretty much sold it all." Ruby was shoving underwear and clothes into the suite case. "Nothing is more important to me than my music. Its something that isn't tangible, like oxygen, but people like me still need it to breathe."  
Ville took the pair of shoes that Ruby was trying to put in the case and set them aside. He then cradled her face in his hands, looking deep into her ocean eyes. His. His ocean eyes.

"I love you." He said. His face was so serious that Ruby almost burst out laughing.

"I love you too!" She said, smiling brightly.

Villes heart overflowed, and he planted a passionate kiss on her mouth. She wrapped her good arm around his waist and pulled him close. 


	23. Chapter 23

It was the beginning of November when Ruby and Ville arrived in Finland. It was cold and raining, and they both loved it. They had spent the several hour plane ride catching up on what they had been up to for the past year.

Conversation between the two of them came so naturally that they felt they had been together for years. Everything came so easily - how they walked with each other, looked at each other. But the fact of the matter was that they _hadn't_ been together for years, and they were reminded of that in instances where they would touch or talk in ways that they hadn't yet. Ruby would watch him at times, and think, 'I wish I could just hold onto your arm', and it would dawn on her that she _could_. And she would presume to do so, both of their hearts racing in turn, the feeling of sparks and goosebumps swirling on their skin. The freedom to do whatever was intoxicating, and they would take turns exploring new places, testing out 'babe', 'sweetheart', and 'hun', each new experience together leaving them in a dizzying natural high.

"I probably wrote about 24 songs about you," Ruby said during their flight. She sat half turned in her seat, her sling supported by the arm rest, a tiny can of soda in her good hand. Ville had offered her the window seat, but it was futile considering she couldn't take her eyes off of him, almost worried that he would disappear if she looked away or blinked too slowly. "One of them is going to be on the new soundtrack. Also did you know that Ozzy texts me sometimes? It's really bizarre."

"Oh, so what _did_ he say to you at Aftershock anyway?"

Ruby smiled at him. "Well... I probably looked like I was about to puke on my shoes. And then, I look over, and fucking Ozzy is walking up to me. And honestly I felt like I _really_ wanted to puke then. But he saw how scared I was. And he put his hand on my shoulder, and he said 'Let me tell you something. Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear.'"

Ruby took a second to reflect on that moment as she always did when telling this story, pressing the tiny soda can to her mouth and looking off into space. "And then he walked away. And I have to say, that what he said really resonated with me. So every time I start to feel scared, or like I'm about to have an attack, I just kind of mantra that quote through my head. It's not 100% effective all the time, but it does help."

Ville listened with awe and admiration.

"That, or I think of you."

-

As Ville was walking Ruby up to his home, he asked "So if you were thinking of me this whole time, what took you so long?"

Ruby paused as they entered. She looked around at his paintings and books.

"I was scared."

She turned and looked at him. She raised her good arm and hung onto him by the elbow. Her touch always sent electric tingles racing along his skin, and this was no exception. Ville shuttered slightly.

"I was scared that if I played you the song, that nothing would happen. And I really wanted us to work out.." Ruby's face was troubled. "But were here now. And that's what matters." She blinked extremely slowly then, just to make sure. He looked down at her with a look both quizzical and full of love, and all she could do was smile in return.

Without saying anything, Ville lead Ruby up a flight of stairs. His strong, warm hand enveloped hers, and she watched his hair bend with his movements, and how his shoulder blades shifted underneath the fabric of his shirt. His scent trailed behind him, and Ruby thought she might just hover the rest of the way. She would follow him anywhere.

"I've been saving this for you." His voice brought her back from her daydream.

Ville carefully removed a dust cover that was draped over an object standing from the floor.  
Ruby raised her good hand to her mouth.

Presented before her was a gorgeous, black cello. Hand painted blue roses and vines curled along the body.  
The silver pegs and endpin shone in the overcast light spilling in from a nearby window. Rain pattered lightly against the panes.

"She's been waiting for you. I know you can't play it right now... but I'm hoping you'll warm up to her in the future."

"She." Ruby said.

"Like a ship." Ville responded, gauging her face.

A single tear spilled over one of her eyes. Ville tossed the dust cover onto the floor, then came over to embrace her.

"There's actually one more thing I've been meaning to give you." Ruby looked up at him quizzically as he fished around in his pocket. He pulled something out, something small that was trapped between his fingers, and offered it to Ruby.  
She held out her hand. A ghost hand. Another moment that didn't feel real, didn't seem tangible. But that feeling disappeared when the weight of something round and metal made contact with her skin. She began to shake a little as she turned it around in her palm, trying to bring it up between her fingers to get a good look at it.

Of course, it was a ring.

The band was silver, meeting the stone in a split style fashion. The stone itself was a dazzling marquise shaped sapphire. Ruby turned the ring between her fingers, watching as the overcast light glinted off the deep blue facets.

"When did you get this?" Ruby asked, tears freely flowing down her face, looking down at the ring.

"Shortly after I watched Ariel come to life."

Ruby chuckled, "you saw that, huh?" She looked up at him. Her eyes were swimming, her cheeks were flushed, and she had the most beautiful smile on her face.

"I'm afraid I didn't get you anything."

Ville chuckled low, reaching down to take the ring from her. As he helped slide it onto her finger, he said,

"With you here, I already have everything I need."


	24. Chapter 24

[4 years later]

 **METAL HAMMER**

 _Ruby Noir: Life in Finland, New Album Details_

 _Justin Albrecht_ : Hello everyone. I'm here with Ruby Noir of The Arcane Few. How are you, Ruby?

 _Ruby_ : I'm really quite content at the moment Justin, thank you.

 _Justin_ : So Ruby, when should we expect your new album to drop? This is number 4, correct?

 _Ruby_ : Yup! Let's see... I'd say in about 2 months it should be hitting the shelves.

 _Justin_ : And how is everyone adjusting to living in a foreign place thousands of miles away from their original home?

 _Ruby_ : Well Janiel grew up here, so it's nothing new to her. Robert and his wife Amy love it, they just have trouble with the language barrier. And Jasper finds European women a lot more susceptible to his cringe-y charm, so he's having fun with that.

 _Justin_ : I see. And how is the married life? On the way in, I saw a picture of you and Ville with Ozzy?

 _Ruby_ : Yeah! We like to drop in on him every now and then. You should see the pictures in the hallway- we've got some with Slash, Elton John, even Cher.

 _Justin_ : wow! It seems your Finland's most popular couple.

 _Ruby_ : We do make a great team.

 _Justin_ : And I have to ask the obvious - hows the pregnancy going?

 _Ruby_ : I have to say, the rounder I get, the harder it is to hold a guitar.

 _Justin_ : How is this going to effect your music career?

 _Ruby_ : I honestly have no idea. We knew we wanted a child, but we held off until we had toured pretty much everywhere together. I never thought I would get to see the Eiffel Tower or the castles of Germany.

 _Justin_ : Do you attribute your success to your husband?

 _Ruby_ : No offense to him, but I'm sure we would have gotten to where we are eventually with or without him.

 _Justin_ : And where is he now?

 _Ruby_ : Upstairs, going one on one with an IKEA crib ( _laughs_ )

 _Justin_ : And how is Ville preparing to be a father?

 _Ruby_ : I think he's already there. Just like with the marriage, it wasn't even really something we discussed, it was just sort of something we telepathically knew was going to happen. He started spouting off baby names the minute we found out I was pregnant.

 _Justin_ : Any advice to your past self?

 _Ruby_ : (Quiet for a few moments) ... There was a moment in my past, where I had my guitar in my hands, surrounded by plants and paper lanterns. I would tell myself this - "Don't let your fear of what could happen, make nothing happen." 


End file.
